Tengu's Fall
by OIThirdLibraIO
Summary: Ichigo was poisoned, bleeding, and unconscious. Orihime was starting to feel dizzy from her own blood loss, and the woman that had saved them both was lying unconscious on the cold ground. This was bad, very, very bad. Spoilers, a little AU, Ichihime. Also, citrus. Takes place before the Thousand-Year Blood-War Arc.
1. Chapter 1

**You will see Romanized Japanese in here. Here's a list of key terms:**

**Also, I should mention:**

**I am actually taking Japanese. I don't really like to romanize this language because how it's romanized varies on who you ask. Any and all nitpicks will be directed back to Google Translate, because that's who I spellchecked this stuff with. KThnks.**

**Hai: Yes**

**Ita: It hurts!**

**Ie: No**

**Mou: Jeeze!**

**Ohayo: 'Morning!**

**Youkata: Thank Goodness**

**Yoshi! Right! Or Alright!**

**Ano: Um….**

**Uhn: An affirmative acknowledgement**

**Gaijin: It's a term for foreigners, but sometimes it is used as a derogatory term for Anglo-saxons. Much like the Mexican word "Gringo"**

**Sama : An honorific used to address someone who is higher in social order than you are. **

Chapter 1

Inoue Orihime fumbled with the lock on the door of her small apartment, her school books held firmly between her knees, her hair pins bit between her teeth. She was running late, and her key was sticking in the lock _again_. She let out a muffled, frustrated groan. This was like those dreams that you had during the middle of summer break, where you just couldn't seem to get to class on the first day of the new semester, and then arrived when school had already ended.

Panicking just a little, Orihime gave her key a firm jerk, and heard a zipping sound as it slid out of the lock with absolutely no resistance at all. She back peddled, her books falling down from between her knees, and jammed her back against the railing that lined the second story walk-way leading to her home. Eyes wide, she reflexively gripped the railing, almost pitching over backwards to the concrete below.

She straightened herself, trying to calm her hammering heart. That was really close!

"Ita-ta-ta!" She exclaimed as she rubbed the bruise forming on her back where she had crashed into the railing.

"Hiiiime!" Came a familiar voice. "C'mon or we'll be late! I can't wait out here all day, you know!"

"Coming, Tatsuki!" Orihime responded, turning about to see her friend poking her head around the bottom of the stairs.

Thankful that Tatsuki didn't see her nearly fall to her death, Orihime went to take her hairpins out of her mouth to put them on her collar, above her heart, but they were gone.

"Iiiieee…." She groaned looking around on the walkway when a twin sparkle caught her eye. "HA!" Came the triumphant sound as she picked both hair pins up and quickly slid them onto the edge of the collar of her school uniform.

"Hime!"

"Right! Sorry!" Orihime grabbed her bags and started to run, rushing down the stairs, as she looked at her watch.

"Tatsuki, hurry! We'll miss meeting Kurosaki-kun, Uryuu, and Sado!"

Tatsuki gaped after Orihime and then picked up into a light jog to catch up to her ginger haired friend. _Me hurry? Who's she kidding? Mouuu…._

After coming about the road, Orihime saw a familiar shock of orange hair, her heart leapt. Tasuki couldn't help but smile as she watched Orihime's eyes light up, and a smile like sunshine wash over her face. Tatsuki wasn't even sure if Orihime noticed Sado and Ishida walking on either side of him.

"Kurosaki-kun! Ohayo!" She called. "Sado-kun! Ishida-Kun! Ohayo!"

All three boys stopped, and turned. Sado lifted a hand in a silent greeting as Orihime ran up to them, Tatsuki close behind, Uryuu had a small smile as he greeted her.

And Ichigo, with the usual flat expression said "Yo, Inoue. Tatsuki."

Orihime felt her heart flutter a little as he looked down at her. It was a new term after winter break. Ichigo had regained his Shinigami powers, and he seemed so much _lighter_ than he had before. Some of the worry lines that had formed in his scowl had eased, like he was comfortable in his own skin again.

His reiatsu, still partially unchecked, emanated from him in a calm flow. _Youkata, _thought Orihime, _he's finally himself again. _

Even with the inevitable hollow attacks, she felt that this term was going to be great. They were all finally together again. Well, not that they had ever been apart, it was just….different. The four of them shared a certain camaraderie now, no more secrets or half-truths kept from Ichigo in an attempt to spare his feelings. They were a team again.

"Yoshi!" Shouted Orihime, stopping in her tracks, fist clenched in a determined manner. Her eyes were uplifted to the sky, shining brightly with her newfound enthusiasm. "We're an unbeatable team!"

The group halted, turning to give blank, confused stares at the redheaded girl. Ichigo and Uryuu looked particularly perplexed.

"Ano….Hime?" Tatsuki questioned.

Blinking Orihime looked at the group, feeling her cheeks redden, she raised her hands in front of her, palms out, waving them back and forth.

"Ano….you see…..I….well….."She stammered.

Tatsuki laughed and ruffled Orihime's hair.

"Its okay, Hime! We're happy, too!"

Orihime relaxed, laughing with Tatsuki, silently thanking her closest friend for being able to understand her train of thought without her having to explain the awkward details. She saw Ichigo shrug and turn back around to start walking in his easy stride again. She sped up her pace to walk beside him, smiling as she started to strike up conversation about the science fiction movie she had watched last night.

Yep, this was going to be a wonderful start to the term!

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A tall, wiry young woman followed the group of five from a distance, sizing each of them up. She kept her reiatsu masked well, not even the Quincy child would have noticed her. However, she was just slightly worried. She stuck out like a sore thumb here. She was tall, about 5'9'', her hair a light honey-brown that was cut to her shoulders. And while her face was that of someone in their late teens, early twenties, her crystalline blue eyes reflected a world weariness that put her on par with a woman nearing her 100th year of life.

Her only saving grace was that she was a long distance away from the group. So much so, that even her keen hearing couldn't pick up their conversation. But she didn't need to hear them, all she had to do was watch them. The biggest problem would be the tall redheaded boy. She could sense a fair amount of reiatsu emanating from him, and she sensed that there was far more than what she felt. It was like there was a dam holding back a monstrous body of water, and it was cracked, only allowing a fraction to slip out.

Yes, he would make her mission much, much harder.

The spikey black haired girl was no threat on terms of reiatsu, but Anlanah could tell that she was a strong fighter. No match for her of course, but formidable enough that she wouldn't want to get on her bad side, lest she wreck her own cover. Ah…and the Quincy was a big problem, too. Not as much as the redhead, but if he was anything like Ryuuken, she'd have to be cautious. The giant wouldn't be much of an issue. Anna's pride was her speed. No one moved faster. And on someone as big as that? She could out maneuver him, no sweat.

Her eyes fell and softened just a little on her target. Inoue Orihime. Anna risked reaching out just a little to feel the girl's reiatsu, just to verify who she was. Sure enough, it was a gentle and warm feeling, and powerful in its own right. She watched curiously as the ginger haired girl laughed at something the redheaded boy said. Ah, how she reminded her of Areen. Young, full of life, and optimistic to a fault. She didn't want to take the girl. But given the current state of things, it was that, or watch her home die.

Anna sighed, removing her gaze from the group and only just now noticing how the Japanese students all around her stared at her and walked hurriedly by when she made eye-contact.

Yes, the obviously British woman stuck out like a damned sore thumb.

As Anlanah shifted her gaze back ahead of her, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the Quincy looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked directly at him, deciding to stare instead of look away. Better to make it look like she assumed he was staring at her like everyone else, than make him think she didn't want to be noticed. She was sure. There was no possible way he could have felt that small fluctuation in reiatsu when she was verifying her target.

He turned away quickly under her intense and challenging gaze, and she smiled slightly to herself.

So much like his father.

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Ishida Uryuu felt something like a cold hand reaching out to Orihime. He felt a subtle presence behind them, then almost as quickly as it came, it was gone. He shifted his gaze backward and caught sight of a tall, beautiful gaijin woman. The thought crossed his mind that she may be the source of the strange reiatsu he'd felt.

Until that was, she looked at him. He nearly stopped walking when her eyes met his. They were the lightest, most vibrant, and unnatural blue he'd ever seen. And they were piercing, haughty, and challenging. Like she was saying "go on, stare, I'll take an eyeball as payment".

Uryuu looked away quickly, feeling his ears turn a little red. He wouldn't put the possibility aside, but on his probability list, she was pretty low.

How many people stared you down when they were staking you out?

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Kurosaki Ichigo sat on a desk in the classroom after school. Tatsuki had practice, Sado had work, and Uryuu said he had to go take care of something.

And it was Orihime's turn to clean. Normally Ichigo wouldn't have stayed late, but the other person that was supposed to clean had asked Orihime to take care of it herself. Orihime being the person she was, said she could take care of it herself. It was only by chance that Ichigo had still been sitting at his desk when it happened. It made his blood boil a little. She was always letting people take advantage of her. He couldn't be angry at her, but that didn't stop him from being vexed with the people who tread all over her.

"Inoue, give me a broom." Ichigo said, holding out his hand.

Orihime shook her head. "No! I can't trouble you that way, Kurosaki-kun. I'll be fine. You can go home."

"No way, if you won't let me help you clean, at least let me walk you home." Ichigo responded firmly.

"Mouuu," Orihime pouted, adorably, Ichigo noted. "Hai, hai, Kurosaki-kun." She had learned that refusing Ichigo of that request was a bad plan by now. After the Winter War she was rarely left alone, in part, she was sure it was Ichigo's doing by being over-protective.

She would have been right about that. Ichigo was being over-protective. But a huge part of that was because of what he'd realized after the war was over. He could never let her be taken away again, not as long as he breathed.

Yet part of him was still unsure why that was. When Tsukishima had altered her memories…that was a hard moment. He hadn't had much time to think about it when it happened because Sado was trying to punch his face in, but he had thought about it later. When she was still unconscious at Urahara's shop. The memory of the tortured look on her face had torn him apart all over again. It was worse than when she had cried in Hueco Mundo. In fact, thinking about it now made him clench his fist and feel that murderous rage again.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Ventured Orihime. Ichigo looked up at her suddenly, whipping the rage from his face and calming his reiatsu immediately.

"Sorry, Inoue, just spaced out."

"Uhn! I did that earlier today! I was thinking about how if I was an actress I'd do all my own stunts!" She proudly proclaimed.

"Huh?"

"I was even thinking about how, instead of having to put me into cybernetic make-up, that they could just turn me into a complete cyborg! And I'd have laser vision, jet packs, and super strength!" The auburn headed girl fantasized out loud. Ichigo couldn't help but let a small smile creep across his lips.

"So instead of Orihime, you'd be Cyhime." He said, playing along. "And fly around as a vigilante." Orihime looked at him with wide, starry eyes, a bright smile on her face.

"Oh! Kurosaki-kun, you always come up with the BEST ideas!"

"Do I really? I think your imagination may be a little more wild than mine, Inoue."

"Oh! I almost forgot! I have to finish cleaning!" As she turned around, Ichigo chuckled softly. He stood, and reached out a hand to ruffle her hair.

He froze before he let it get near her.

What the fuck was he doing?

It was a good thing her back was turned because she didn't see him reach for her, nor did she see him pull his hand away. _Fuck, why is she always so goddamn cute?_ He thought. _If she's not careful, I really will end up doing something that I shouldn't someday._

"By the way, Kurosaki-kun, what did you think of the new transfer student?" Orihime inquired, looking at Ichigo over her shoulder. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Ichigo hadn't been paying that much attention to the new transfer, but it was still hard to miss her entirely. She was an amazon in height, slim and coltish, and definitely British from her accent when speaking Japanese.

But it was her eyes that made him notice her.

They were the eyes of a killer.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't really think gaijin are all that attractive." He replied. Orihime gasped.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She scolded. "You shouldn't say derogatory words like that! It's mean!"

"Hai, hai, Inoue-sama." Ichigo replied mockingly.

And he couldn't help but revel a little in the high blush that lit Orihime's face.

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Anlanah was on the other side of the school and she still felt it like he was standing right next to her. That black and twisted reiatsu, he was pissed about something.

_Pull a handle on yourself, boy, before you attract something dangerous._ Anlanah thought.

She had taken the time, as soon as she was introduced to the class, to memorize the roster. The redheaded boy was Ichigo, the Quincy was Uryuu, the Giant was Sado, and the firecracker with spiky black hair was Tasuki. There were others, but those five were the only ones she'd cared about.

And it was Ichigo that was in a rage at the moment. Then, suddenly, it was gone. She reached out tentatively again, felt that he had calmed himself, felt the Inoue girl's reiatsu close to him.

_I bloody hate teenagers, _Anna thought. They were so damn fickle.

But it wasn't hard to notice, Inoue Orihime simply _adored_ Kurosaki Ichigo. Anna smiled sadly as she ascended the stairs of the rec center building. Kurosaki Ichigo was obviously in love with the young woman, too. Anna could tell. Neither had confessed to the other, but it was there. She was old enough to be able to see it no matter how hard either one tried to hide it. The boy, Ichigo, reminded her of her lost husband. Brave, stubborn, a little dense, but protective. She could see, Kurosaki Ichigo was more protective of Inoue Orihime than any other one of his friends.

Which was why he would be a problem.

Anna opened the door to the roof of the rec center. She would use this spot to scope the area for Hollows, just to make sure that idiot boy hadn't attracted a ton of them. She didn't want any loss of life, at least no more than what would probably be deemed necessary.

"I thought that was you, Anlanah." Came a familiar voice. Anna froze, the light from going inside to outside temporarily blinding her. But she didn't need to see to know who it was.

"Ryuuken?"

**Whew! First chapter out of the way. I'm exhausted. May take me about a week to crack another chapter out. Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Terms:**

**I hate the special characters google uses on some words. So I'll be changing some of the "O" sounds to "OU" sounds because that's how it actually sounds when you say it.**

**Fulmen Coniveo: Literally "Lightning Blink" in Latin. It's Anna's clan's version of a speed movement.**

**Umbra Obitus: Literally "Ghost Death" The nickname for Adam, Anna's psycho brother.**

**74,232 yen = About 900 USD.**

**Ikimashou: Let's go!**

**Kuso: Fuck/dammit/shit etc...**

**Kodachi: A Japanese short sword with the blade only about 20 inches long.**

**Kunai: Watch Naruto...they're the thing that gets thrown around the most that's not a shuriken.**

**Sai: Ever played Mortal Kombat? Remember Maleena? Yeah, THOSE things.**

**Sensei: If you only watch Bleach, you'll notice that they only use this term for teachers. However, in Japan, it is not uncommon to call someone who is a doctor sensei. Another word for doctor is: isha. It'd be a little weird to use Ishida-isha, and Ishida-san is a little disrespectful for someone who's a good enough doctor to run a hospital. Jus' sayin'.**

**Chapter 2**

Directly across from the rec center building was the club activities building, and crouched behind an air conditioning unit on the roof, was Uryuu. He had felt, though it was very low key, Ryuuken's reiatsu on campus. He had followed it until he was sure that his father was atop the recreational center building, and then he decided to investigate further. He positioned himself so that he had a clear view of the roof of the rec center. He made certain to make his reiatsu undetectable, and had positioned himself so that he had no chance of being seen.

Ryuuken stood atop the opposite building still wearing his doctor's coat, underneath he wore an expensive white dress shirt, accompanied by a fashionable tie and likewise expensive slacks. His father presented a very clean and tidy appearance. _He's obviously waiting for someone, _thought Uryuu, _but who?_

As if on cue, the door to the rec center's roof swung open, and Uryuu felt a jolt of surprise when he saw his father immediately materialize his bow and knock a reishi arrow in one rapid, fluid motion. Ishida Ryuuken said something to the person on the other side of the door, and much to Uryuu's dismay, the new transfer student LaRell Anlanah stepped out into the fading daylight.

_Just what in the world is going on? _Uryuu wondered. As he watched, the transfer student sauntered towards his father without fear or hesitation of the weapon pointed at her head. He was too far away, and the wind was carrying their voices in the opposite direction, so their words were lost on him. However, simply watching them, he knew they were familiar with each other. Judging by the look of contempt on his father's face, and the taunting demeanor of the British student, she was cat-calling at Ryuuken.

Uryuu's father said something in response, completely non-plussed by her comment. When the woman responded only with a wicked grin, Ryuuken let loose his arrow. To Uryuu's astonishment, the woman vanished, moving far faster that Uryuu's eyes could hope to follow. What was more, the speed in which she moved was on par with any of the other speed movements that he knew of. But it wasn't Hirenkyaku, Shunpō, Sonida, or Bringer Light. No, her technique was different entirely. The foreign student appeared directly behind Ryuuken, just as fast as she had vanished, a kodachi now at Ryuuken's throat.

Uryuu might not have liked his father very much, but he still tense and had to resist the urge to fly to his aid. Uryuu reminded himself that Ryuuken could handle himself, and if it looked like his throat was about to be slit, he would step in. As it was, the woman made no move to execute such a move, nor did she seem to have any killing intent behind her actions. It was….playful.

Uryuu sat with his jaw hanging open slightly as the tall Brit whispered something into Ryuuken's ear, a mysterious smile on her lips. Ryuuken's eyes widened and he turned his head to face her directly.

What Uryuu saw next, made him nearly die from shock. He turned away rapidly, a bright flush of red suddenly rising in his cheeks. His heart pounded against his chest, threatening to explode, or simply to stop all together.

_She kissed him?! Why would she _kiss_ him?!_

Feeling like he had just witnessed something he shouldn't have, Uryuu slowly inched away from behind the air-conditioning unit and towards the door to the roof. He had seen more than he had needed, given their interaction just now, he didn't think that she was immediately dangerous. However, the circumstances were bizarre to say the very least. Even in spite of the shock he felt, he still knew that the situation was poor.

Uryuu wasn't so much of an idiot not to notice that the reiatsu from this morning, and the reiatsu he'd felt when LaRell had dodged his father's attack were the same. The new transfer student was showing an interest in Orihime, and Uryuu didn't like that. Before sliding inside the club activities building to exit the roof, Uryuu looked back at his father and LaRell Anlanah, just to make certain that she had not actually opened his throat. Neither one had their weapons drawn any longer and they were standing a comfortable distance apart again. Ryuuken said something to her, and LaRell motioned to the east. Then she was gone again. Shortly after, Ryuuken was gone as well.

_For now, _thought Uryuu, _I will wait. There's a possibility that she means no harm. There's too much circumstantial information now anyway. _

But, he seriously doubted that no harm would come.

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As Anna stepped out into the light and her eyes adjusted, she saw Ryuuken, bow drawn, a reishi arrow knocked and aimed directly at her forehead. She smiled mischievously.

"Now, now, Ryuu," she teased. "Is that any way to greet your old _friend_?" Unperturbed, but with obvious annoyance, Ryuuken kept Anna in his sights.

"Why are you here, Anlanah-san?" He gritted. Anna only smiled widely in response. She noted with amusement as a brief flash of fury and impatience colored Ryuuken's usually cool eyes just before he loosed his arrow at her head. Anlanah used _Fulmen Coniveo_, what Ryuuken used to call the Trickster's Hirenkyaku to dodge the deadly projectile. She flanked him using the high speed move that rivaled both Shunpō and Sonida, drawing her kodachi. With precision and delicacy, she appeared behind Ryuuken, one arm drawn across his chest, pulling him close, the other with the blade at his neck. She chuckled softly into his ear, feeling the Quincy tense just a tad.

"Touchy, aren't we?" She taunted. "In response to your question, my dear Ryuuken, I am here to exact my revenge." She dropped her voice low, made it into a dangerous whisper, and filled it with venom. Ryuuken's eyes widened. He turned his head abruptly to meet her in the eyes, careful to avoid opening his flesh on her sharp short sword.

Anna grinned like a wolf and immediately took the opportunity to press her lips to Ryuuken's, withdrawing her weapon in unison with her movement. The kiss was plenty chaste, but still enough to make the normally straight and arrow Quincy feel shaken. He shoved her away, his bow vanishing in the disruption of his focus. Anlanah burst into a short gale of impish laughter.

"You are still _so _much fun!"

Ishida Ryuuken made an audible "tch", and grit his teeth.

"I'm a very busy man with a hospital to run, Anlanah." He hissed." I'll only ask you once more; why are you here?"

Anna immediately narrowed her eyes. The game was over, now it was all business. She shifted her weight to one leg, her curvy hips swung from one side to the other, her arms still hanging loose and relaxed.

"Why do you think I'm here?" She spat. "Or did the years of quiet complacence damage your memory?" Anna paused, watching Ryuuken turn cold again. "Or, maybe, you just wanted to forget about the_ little_ mistake you made?" She could feel the angry flux of reiatsu rise at her, but his face never betrayed him. Ryuuken's rage was a cold rage. He ignored her sharp prod into his pride.

"So, the _Umbra Obitus_ escaped from his prison after all, then?" He stated flatly. Ryuuken glanced around cautiously. "We shouldn't have this discussion here."

"I have an apartment to the East of here. Just follow my reiatsu." Anna smiled humorlessly. "It'll be just like old times, again. Playing spiritual hide-and-seek." She used _Fulmen Coniveo_ again to exit the rooftop, leaving Ryuuken with a short laugh.

The elder Ishida uttered a small curse of frustration and took off after her. He followed the reiatsu to a small, one bedroom apartment located less than a mile east of his son's school. He didn't bother to knock, he knew the door would be open and Anna had let out just a flash of her reiatsu to let him know where she was.

"Dammit, Anlanah, I do not have the patience for your games." He hissed at her. Anna rolled her eyes, already barefoot.

"You've always been too serious for your own good, Ryuuken. If you keep on like you do, you'll give yourself an aneurysm." She said in English. "Your precious hospital can wait for a person you haven't seen in 22 years, I assure you, it won't crumble without you." Anna motioned for him to sit at the small table in the living room.

"Sit." She ordered, turning towards the kitchen to dig out a large bottle of sake. "You know, I was hoping that you wouldn't notice me when I came here." She heard a sigh from behind her as the man at her table accepted that he would not be able to get a short answer out of her.

"It's difficult not to notice the Blood Gate opening once you've experienced it before." He replied coolly, switching languages easily.

Anna walked back to the white haired man, sitting down at the table and pouring them both a drink. She smiled slightly, looking him over.

"I like the hair, by the way." She said, taking a sip of the sake. "It gives you an aura of refinement that you didn't have in your youth."

"Anlanah, please, just explain yourself."

"Always the one to press the things I wish to avoid, aren't you?" She sighed, knocked back her drink, and set the empty cup down.

"I need the Inoue girl." She began. "I heard about her abilities from a certain information broker, and I need her to put Adam back into his cage."

Scoffing, Ryuuken replied: "why not just gather your clan and seal him again?"

Anna felt herself stiffen, her brow furrowed in sadness.

"Adam and I are the last, old friend." She said flatly. "I….I didn't feel the seal breaking." She said slowly. "He must have writhed his bloody way out of it without completely destroying it. He killed every last person in the family, except me. Probably wanted to save the best for last, I'm sure."

Ryuuken's expression didn't change and he said nothing. This suited her just fine, Anna had no use for expressions of condolences. She continued.

"If I can lure him back to the site, have Inoue Orihime reverse the wear on the seal to the state it was in when my incantation was disrupted, I can complete it myself."

"So you came to ask for help."

Anna didn't come to ask for help, she came to take it…but she wouldn't be telling him that. No, this little excursion would probably cost the girl her life. But what was one life compared to billions? He watched her closely, waiting for the answer, waiting for a lie.

"Yes, as hard as it is to believe. The great Anlanah LaRell is requesting assistance from a mere child yet again."

"Very well, "Ryuuken hadn't touched the sake, but now, he downed it in one swallow just as she had. "I won't interfere then."

He began to stand from his kneeled position at the table, Anna's hand shot out, quick as a snake's strike, and caught him by the wrist.

"I-I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I'm sure it must have stung, and I made you angry."

Ryuuken's eyes bore into hers, his overly serious face searching hers for any lies, any notions of deception, just as they had as she had told him that she would only be asking for Inoue Orihime's help. She had taught him how to read people, she had taught him strategy, she had taught him calculation. He would never be able to tell if she was lying to him. Of that, she was surer than anything.

There was a long moment of silence as he stared at her, their faces merely inches apart.

"You are still as beautiful as the day I first saw you." He breathed. "You haven't aged a day, have you?"

"Not physically, no." Anna said softly.

Quite suddenly, Ryuuken shifted his hand, so that he grabbed her wrist, and he yanked her towards him, their lips crashing into each other's.

Anna's heart was pounding heavily in her ears. Instinctively, her free hand grabbed his shirt, and she pulled him towards her. The silver-haired man tripped over the table, landing on the other side on top of her. There were no words, and the potentially embarrassing act of tripping was completely ignored as Ryuuken bent down for another kiss. Anna's slim, cool fingers ran through his hair, pulling him in closer, suddenly wishing that she didn't have to breathe.

The older Ishida pulled away, looking down at her, showing her eyes that had only ever been meant for her. As he bent down for another kiss, Anna's finger stopped him, pressed to his lips.

"You, my dear, have a wife to return to." She said quietly.

"No. She passed on many years ago, Anlanah." He said, his face serious, intense.

"Ah, I suppose then, that nothing's stopping us, then, eh?" She replied with a smirk. Her hand grasped his tie and pulled him into another hot, wanton kiss. Fervently her hands started to work at his tie, now loosening it. Once the knot was undone, she tossed his tie off to the side, her fingers moving to the buttons of his shirt next.

Ryuuken's hands slid up her thighs and under her skirt. And as he worked his fingers underneath the band of her panties, Anna's skin suddenly lit up, his hands leaving trails of fire in their wake. He tugged at them, inching them down. Anna arched her hips up, and he slid them down her legs, around her ankles, and tossed them off somewhere. Anna moaned softly, her heartbeat picking up, warmth spreading through her center.

The moment her mouth opened to moan, Ryuuken took the opportunity to invade her mouth with his tongue, groaning hoarsely as she welcomed the intrusion. Anna's hands moved frantically to unbutton his shirt, but there were so damn many, that she got frustrated and made motion to just rip it open. He stopped her hands, breaking the kiss, much to her dissatisfaction.

"74,232 yen shirt, Anlanah." He chided roughly. "Judging by your current dwellings, I don't think you could afford to replace it."

Anna smiled and laughed softly.

"Considering our circumstances, we may not live for it to matter." She replied, that impish glint sparkling in her impossibly blue eyes. "Carpe Diem, I always say."

Ryuuken smiled. Anna felt her heart flutter a little for the first time in decades. Such a rare and precious thing that smile was to her. She could count on one hand how many times she'd seen it in the past. As he moved to finish unbuttoning his shirt, Anna set to work on his belt. Her hands trembled slightly as she did, but her movements were deft none-the-less. Jesus Christ, why did he make her feel so _young_ again?

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

It was Ryuuken's pager. They both froze. Anna's mood was instantly killed. She let her arms slide down, turning her face away, a frustrated sigh escaping her.

_Damn_, she thought.

Ryuuken leaned back on his knees over her, digging into his pocket to retrieve the source of the interruption. He scowled as he looked at the message.

"It's the hospital. There was a critical accident across town." He looked at her unapologetically. "I have to go."

"Yes, yes, I know." Anna waved her hand, unable to hide her obvious anger. She looked at him when he made no move to get up. "Well? Go! It's your duty to save their lives isn't it?"

Ryuuken stared at her with an unfathomable expression, then he stood, refastening the buttons on his shirt quickly. Anna threw his tie at him, and he caught it without looking, threw it around his neck, and tugged it into a knot again. His hands re-did his belt, and once again, he looked the prim-and-proper doctor he should. Except for his hair, which was just slightly ruffled from Anna's hands. She decided not to say anything about it, it was more entertaining that way. Ryuuken grabbed his doctor's coat and put on his shoes at the door.

Anna pulled her skirt down and sat up lazily, reaching to the pack of cigarettes sitting on the bookshelf against the wall. She pulled one out, and lit it, dropping the lit match into her sake cup. It sizzled as the remaining liquid put out the flame. She took a deep drag, then exhaled.

Ryuuken opened the door, stopping for just a moment, he looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers at an angle.

"Oh, and Anlanah," He said coldly, with a murderous glint in his eyes as he switched from English to Japanese again. "If you let any harm come to Uryuu over this debacle, I will kill you."

And with that, Ishida Ryuuken was gone.

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Once Orihime has finished her cleaning duties, she brushed the chalk off of her skirt and turned to face Ichigo. His light teasing from earlier still had her just a little flustered. She scolded herself silently for getting so worked up over something so small. Orihime knew her love for Ichigo was unrequited. However, she'd always felt that just being able to have a candid friendship with him was enough. That didn't stop her from letting him get her worked up when he did decide to poke fun at her.

"Ready to go?" Ichigo asked, the faintest of smiles in his eyes.

"Uhn! Ikimashou!" Orihime exclaimed.

As they passed the gate of the school, Orihime halted in her steps. She felt a sudden flash of reiatsu come from the rec center building across campus. It was very brief, so much so that she thought she'd imagined it. Well, she must have imagined it, because it felt like Ryuuken-sensei's reiatsu. But why would Uryuu's father be here?

"Inoue?" Came Ichigo's inquisition. "Did you forget something in the classroom?"  
"I-Iie." Orihime stuttered waving her hands in front of her. "I think it's just my imagination running away from me again!"

Ichigo lifted an eyebrow. He had noticed a long time ago that Orihime was almost as good as Uryuu at sensing reiatsu. To Orihime it looked like he was considering whether or not he should just let the subject lie.

"What did your imagination tell you?" He asked slowly.

Orihime hesitated, feeling silly now.

"That Ishida-sensei was just on campus," Orihime laughed nervously. "Totally weird, ne?"

Ichigo was silent for a few moments, watching as Orihime looked back towards the school. It was bothering her. Without thinking, he reached out and gently touched her shoulder, calling her by her last name. She started, her eyes darting to his, meeting them, and a bright blush suddenly colored her cheeks. Almost as if he had been bitten, Ichigo pulled his hand away, an undefined expression on his face.

"You're right, it's probably nothing. Let's get you home." He said hurriedly, turning again, and starting to walk away.

"U-uhnn…" Orihime replied, confused, and still blushing a little. What in the world was that? Was he upset with her over something? Did she say something weird? Was there something on her face? Why did he pull away from her like that?

Orihime and Ichigo walked away from school in an uncomfortable, awkward silence.

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_Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!_ Ichigo cursed himself. Since his awkward action earlier, the silence between them had simply grown, making it harder and harder to broach a new topic. He had reached out and touched her without even thinking_. What should I say?_ He wondered as the silence became heavier. _How should I explain myself?_

The earlier subject of Ishida Ryuuken's reiatsu having been on campus had been completely left behind by Ichigo's racing thoughts. He walked in silence with Orihime beside him, brooding to himself, failing to think of a satisfactory way of bringing back their comfortable conversation.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime began suddenly, forcing Ichigo to look at her. "A-are you angry with me?" She asked in a small, tremulous voice. Ichigo's eyes widened for a moment. Why would she…-Oh. He kicked himself again. Of_ course _she would think he was angry, he hadn't said a word to her in almost 15 minutes. And given how awkward their last interaction was, was it any wonder she thought he was upset with her?

"No-no, I'm not mad at you, Inoue." Ichigo said slowly. _I probably couldn't be mad at you if I tried_, he added mentally. Orihime sighed in relief, not broaching the subject further. An inquiry as to what was really wrong would get her nowhere, and she knew that by now. Orihime quickened her step, a visible bounce in it now, and got ahead of Ichigo. She whirled around suddenly, a big smile on her face. Her long auburn hair swirling around her in a halo. Ichigo's heart ached at the sight of her. The evening light made her scarlet hair glow like fire, and made her porcelain skin take on the color of a harvest moon. In that moment, Ichigo thought that she looked like a Goddess descended from the heavens.

"Good! I'm relieved!" She said with a smile like sunshine. "Ne, Kurosaki-kun, Christmas is soon! What would you like?"

_You_. Ichigo thought, barely able to stop it from coming out of his mouth. He tried to keep his face as normal as possible as he told her not to worry about it, and that if she really wanted to get him something, anything she gave him would be fine. Orihime spun back around on her heel, her skirt lifting with the movement, nearly making Ichigo groan involuntarily. She looked back at him over her shoulder, slowing her pace for him to catch up to her.

"Well," she began, pondering. "I guess it _is_ the thought that counts." She stopped suddenly, a distracted Ichigo nearly bumping directly into her.

"Oh! We're here!" She exclaimed.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at her while they stood at the foot of the stairs to her small one bedroom apartment.

"Well, I'll be off, then." He said. "See you tomorrow."

"Uhn! Arigatou, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime chimed. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Ichigo watched her ascend the stairs and turned his back to head home. As soon as he was sure she wouldn't see, he let a wide smile break onto his face.

Later, in his room, Ichigo went over their last exchange as he tried to fall to sleep. The image of her brilliantly lit by the setting sun replayed over, and over again.

He stopped.

_Wait_, he thought, sitting upright in bed, rubbing his face. _What am I thinking? Inoue is….it's Inoue. There's no way she sees me as anything more than just a very dear friend. Fuck. She probably asked Uryuu and Sado what they wanted for Christmas, too. _

He groaned. Why was he feeling like this…..?

The realization struck him like lightning. Instantly, his mind replayed over every moment he'd had with Orihime since they'd rescued Rukia in Soul Society. He went over every feeling he'd had towards her. And the same feeling was there, at the root of everything he had felt towards her.

He felt like his heart would stop.

_I love her…._He thought wondrously. _I'm in love with_ Inoue.

This was very, very bad.

**See? Told you it'd be longer! I'm actually really nervous about this chapter. I needed a cannon character that didn't have a lot of their personality already revealed so I could play with it a little. So….Ryuuken it was! I hope this lives up to your expectations! I've got Chapter 3 in the works already. As always! Please comment! Your feedback is really, really, really welcome!**

**-Third**


	3. Chapter 3

**20 Meters: Approx 24 yards.**

**Na-? : Orihime was about to say NANI? Which means "What?" in Japanese.**

**Korosu: I'll kill you**

**Tasukete: Help me**

**Nigeru: Run**

**Quia te mea quem sanguis pertinent, pro te mea quem vitae pertinent, tibi quem ego possides et cuium me. Ego præcipio vos aperta, Sanguis Semita.: Latin for "For thee whom my blood belong, for thee whom my life belong, for thee whom I own and who owns me. I command ye open, Blood Path."**

**Yare, yare: Well, well**

**Daijobudesuka? : Are you okay? Technically this is two words, however, in some phrases they're said all together like this. **

**Arigatougozaimasu: Thank you very much**

**Douzo: Pleasure (to meet you)**

**Kami: The closest translation is "God"**

**Chapter 3**

Ichigo approached Orihime's apartment and began to ascend the stairs. It was a nice, warm night, with a soft breeze ruffling the trees. But, it was disquietingly silent in the area. As Ichigo approached her front door, his fists clenched and his heart leapt into his throat.

Her front door was ajar, and hanging slightly off its hinges. He felt like he'd swallowed a cold rock, he felt it drop into the pit of his stomach as undeniable dread over took him. He pushed the door open in earnest stepping into her one bedroom apartment, looking around frantically.

Her apartment was a wreck. The table that sat in the middle of her main room was in splinters, the lamp in the corner of the room was on, but had tipped over. Books had spilled over onto the floor from the bookshelf that Sora's precious picture had once sat on, and his photo lay on the floor, shattered. The worst was the blood. He could smell it as he rushed in, it was spattered on the walls, and the carpet.

Ichigo's eyes darted around, the sound of his heart in his ears almost deafening. A swath of auburn hair caught his eye from her bedroom, and he saw her lying on the floor, motionless.

"Orihime!" He shouted, scrambling to her to turn her over. Blood had pooled below her and her skin was ice. As he turned the facedown form over, he saw that her eyes were wide open in a perpetual expression of shock and fear. Tears still clung unshed in her terrified grey eyes, while one's that were shed earlier were drying on her cheeks.

She had been pierced through her lung, again through her side, and again through her neck. Blood, there was blood everywhere, her blood. It was hard to fathom that she had so much in her. Comprehending that anything he did now was useless, he gathered her limp form into his arms. Ichigo's body collapsed into her, clutching her desperately.

"No, no, no, no, no, no….."Was all he could articulate as hot tears ran uncontrollably from his eyes, and into her soft hair.

She was gone.

"No, no, please, God, no…"He wept bitterly.

Ichigo rocked back and forth, holding her forehead to his cheek as he stroked her hair. He could no longer say anything, or think anything, what he felt was all consuming. A low keening sound emitted from deep in his chest, like that of a drowning man.

Dead, Orihime was dead.

Ichigo shot upright in his own bed, drenched in a cold sweat and shaking, not noticing a few tears dripping down onto his blue comforter. His head snapped to his clock, 5am it read.

He ran a hand through his messy orange hair, taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and focused, feeling out Inoue Orihime's reiatsu.

The strongest sense of relief he had ever felt washed over him as he felt her, still fast asleep at home. He sat there for a long moment, just letting the gentle, warm aura of her reiatsu wash over him. He fell back onto his pillow, a hand over his eyes, now feeling the tears that were on his face, and knowing no sense of shock when he realized he'd woke crying.

He breathed slowly, the adrenaline rush leaving his body.

"She's fine, Ichigo," he said softly to himself. "Calm down."

The dream had been so real. Down to every last detail, it was as though he had lived it.

He wondered how he would be able to act around her at school, now, because it was simply impossible to ever ignore his feelings for her ever again.

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**Three Days Later**

Orihime removed her apron and hung it on a hook on the wall in the back of the bakery. She went to her locker and removed her jacket, her scarf, and her purse. She walked to the front of the store, where the owner smiled at her as she shrugged on her garments to stay warm in the frigid air outside.

"Orihime-chan," said the old woman. "Good work today."

"Thanks for all the hard work!" She spouted cheerfully, giving a short, polite bow to her boss. It was about quarter after nine, and the bakery she worked at was closing. She stepped outside waving to the owner.

"Take care, Orihime-chan!" The elderly lady called to her.

Orihime started to head home. Tatsuki wasn't able to come pick her up from work because she was staying over-night at the dojo for a school tournament tomorrow. As she walked, she started thinking about the events of the last three days.

To be honest, it had actually been pretty normal. No hollow attacks at all so far this week, it was a nice change of pace, even if it was a little strange.

The big curiosity was Ichigo. He had insisted on walking her to work for the last three days, before going to Unagiya for his own job. He'd been carrying on the same, normal conversations with her, but something just seemed…..off about him lately. Orihime figured it was just her imagination again, but it was like he was in her personal bubble. Not that she minded, but she found herself more aware of him than ever before now, which made her really nervous! What was more, she had felt him staring at her in class, too. The thought of it now made her cheeks hot, coloring them with a high blush.

Orihime shook her head vigorously, slapping her own cheek.

"It-ta-ta!" She whined. "I did that too hard."

She looked at her watch again, stepping up her pace. She still had homework to do tonight, and it was already 9:30! She figured that she would just take the little side street that cut through one of the city blocks as a shortcut.

She rounded the corner, suddenly feeling a little nervous about taking this route because of how badly lit it was. She inhaled and puffed out her ample chest a little.

_Come on, Orihime! You're a big girl, now!_ She chided herself and started walking through the narrow abbey. Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to be as watchful as she could. It took a lot of effort not to let her imagination run wild. All sorts of scary things started to come to mind. Like the woman with the surgical mask that would cut your face, or that new internet legend that was circling around about a tall slender man.

She had just turned the second corner, and could see her apartment building not 20 meters away, when she felt it. A chill ran up her spine, and a cold feeling curled in her belly.

She was being followed.

It was a frighteningly murderous gaze, too. She started to speed up her pace just as the reiatsu hit her. It was more than just oppressive, it was downright _suffocating_, and like nothing she had ever felt before. She had to stop in her tracks because she found it hard to breathe. The presence filled her with dread, the murderous intent was obvious, but the other thing she felt from it was what scared her. Psychotic glee. Pure and utter psychotic glee. Suddenly, she felt like a bug caught in a spider's web. There was a sound directly behind her, like an animal laughing.

Orihime whirled around to face her pursuer, a hand touching her hairpin at her collar as she did.

"Tsubaki!" She cried, the little fairy appearing and darting to the dark figure behind her. "Koten Zanshun!"

It was a man who had been following her. He stepped under one of the dim streetlamps in the alleyway, and raised a long sword, knocking Tsubaki to the side, his tiny form breaking against the wall. Orihime wanted to cry out, wanted to run and get her injured friend, but the terror she suddenly felt as the man turned to her, stopped her dead.

He was stunningly handsome, like what she had always thought a Greek god should look like. However, while his face was handsome, everything else about him was black. His pitch colored hair was long, and wild, and hung to his waist. He was dressed in a tattered black uniform and a pair of worn black boots. The sword he carried was not Japanese, just like his facial features. It was as long as Ichigo's Zangestu, and double edged. His eyes were narrow for a European, but clear to see.

They were the lightest color blue she'd ever seen, so much so, in fact, that they appeared to be nearly white. His pupils were constricted in blood-lust, with a grin on his face that could peel paint.

Orihime shook, his reiatsu rolling over her in blood-curdling waves. She took a step back, her mind going blank, she was like a deer in headlights.

She saw him move, suddenly running full tilt at her, his sword drawn back ready to pierce through her.

"Santen Kesshun!" She called, the shield going up in front of her. She saw his smile stretch his face even farther, and he disappeared.

_Na-?! _Was as much as she was able to think before he became visible again, only slowed by the fact that his sword was cutting through her shield like a hot knife through butter.

It was a good thing Orihime's reflexes were as good as they were, because the blade only went through her left shoulder, just above her lung, instead of straight through her heart.

She screamed in pain, feeling the blade being used to swing her body to the side and into the wall of a building. The long sword went through the wall like it had her shield until her attacker was only a hair's breadth from her face, and the sword's hilt touched her shoulder.

"My, my, "Came his smooth, malevolent voice. "You certainly have a very interesting ability there."

His left hand released his sword, a cold finger reaching to stroke Orihime's cheek.

"And so beautiful, it's such a shame that I can't enjoy you in every way before killing you."

Despite the excruciating pain in her shoulder, Orihime tried to use the wall to her advantage. She lifted both legs, ignoring her tearing flesh, and kicked him as hard as she possibly could with both feet in the stomach.

Nothing gave, in fact, she heard a snap as she broke her own ankle in the effort. The man laughed, the sound high and gleeful. He flicked his left wrist, a sai sliding out of his tattered sleeve. Orihime screamed in agony as he took the blade and drove it through her wrist, and into the wall, all the way to the hilt again. He tore his long sword from her shoulder, blood squirting out once it came free, splattering on the auburn's face.

"Anna has an interest in those powers of yours, and I can't have her meddling in my plans before I can kill her, so, nothing personal, but I have to kill you." He stepped back, leaving a good five feet between them, gathering more energy behind him with the intent of impaling her completely on his sword.

_This is it, this is how I die…._Orihime thought numbly.

He lunged.

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Ichigo was never one to ever notice someone's reiatsu. Unless it was ridiculously powerful. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he realized where the terrifying force was coming from. It was right by the bakery that Orihime worked at, and it was moving.

In the last three days, Ichigo had become so in tune to Orihime's reiatsu that it had become hard for him not to know where she was constantly. Right now, that murderous energy was following her. Without hesitation, Ichigo grabbed his Substitute Pass, and freed himself of his corporeal form, leaving his body on the couch of the Unagiya break room.

He was about half way there when he felt Orihime's reiatsu spike with terror, he Shunpōed, pushing himself hard to get to her in haste.

_Please, let me make it in time,_ he begged the cosmos. _Please, let her be safe._

He heard a scream of pain and fear.

_FASTER! _He screamed at himself.

He landed on the roof top just above the alley way with a clear view of what was happening. And what he saw turned his vision red.

Orihime's wrist was pinned to the wall with a sai, blood spilled out of the wound in her shoulder, and her feet moved, uselessly trying to push her farther back into the wall to get away. Ichigo's eyes focused on the attacker. The man was just as bad at sensing reiatsu as he was, because he never seemed like he saw Ichigo coming.

"TASUKETEEEE!" Orihime screamed as the attacker crouched to make his killing blow.

If Ichigo's rage could have been measured with a thermometer, the mercury would have burst out of the glass at that moment. With the same fury that he had attacked Tsukishima with months ago, he went for the black figured man. A howl ripped out his throat, drawing his new opponent's attention. Their swords locked, Ichigo glared into the man's intense blue eyes only to find a sick joy glinting back at him.

"Bankai." He grated, instantly calling out Tensa Zangestu, and using his strength to shove his opponent away. But he didn't stop there, he began to blindly attack at the grinning man, working furiously to kill him. Ichigo had him locked against the opposite wall to Orihime.

"KOROSU! KOROSU!" He screamed with every strike. But the grinning bastard started to laugh, only enraging him further.

"You're quite strong, boy!" Jeered the man. "But not strong enough."

Ichigo's rage dropped a level as the look in the man's eyes changed from maniacal, to poisonous. Ichigo felt what he thought was a kick land in his stomach, knocking the air clean out of him. He coughed, taking a step back, bringing his focus back to his opponent as fast as he could. He gave Ichigo one last icy jeer, and moved faster than Ichigo's eyes could follow. The attacker was suddenly behind him, and Ichigo felt something in his side, right between his ribs. His body became slow, it wasn't moving how he'd wanted, he looked down at himself. A sai like the one in Orihime's wrist stuck out of his belly, and there was a kunai between his ribs, filling his lungs with blood rapidly.

Ichigo still managed to Shunpō in front of Orihime to block the man's path to her. The man stopped, his face completely serious now, no longer laughing, he looked up at the sky making a sharp hiss of frustration.

"Your funeral." He spat and positioned himself to come at Ichigo with the long sword. Ichigo moved to block it with Tensa Zangestu, but his arms would move.

_Poison,_ He thought numbly. _I've been poisoned._

He could barely hear Orihime screaming.

"KUROSAKI-KUN! KUROSAKI-KUN!" She was frantic. "NIGERU!"

_No way,_ he thought. _I will protect you._

The man launched at Ichigo.

Ichigo saw a blur in front of him of white, brown, and blue. He heard the sound of metal scraping on metal. He fell to his knees, barely able to shove his zanpakuto into the ground to stop himself from falling over completely. He forced his eyes to focus as he looked up at the two people locked in combat. His eyes widened, utter and complete shock.

The transfer student stood in front of him, clad in a tight white dress and flat boots. Her eyes had that same murderous intent as he had seen on the first day of the new term. They were speaking to each other in English, and the grin that both of them wore was not one of maniacal joy, but each wore the same humorless smile. LaRell Anlanah broke their deadlock, her body changing directions faster than anything Ichigo had ever seen before. First, her elbow came down on the man's back, forcing him forward, then she kneed him in the gut, literally making him fly up into the air, and land on the roof above.

"That should keep him distracted for a couple seconds." She muttered.

Anlanah rounded on him and Orihime, walking right past Ichigo to the girl first. She pulled the sai out, making Orihime scream again. She reached down and ripped pieces of her dress apart, wrapping Orihime's shoulder first, then her hand, making sure to pack the fabric down tightly to slow her bleeding. She grabbed the terrified healer by the chin, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Focus, child." She chided, not without a certain softness in her voice. "Your friend has been poisoned. He will die unless you help him, do you understand?"

Orihime nodded.

"Then do it!" Anna shouted at her, releasing her. Orihime jumped.

"S-Soten Kisshun!" She said as she touched her hairpins.

Ichigo's eyes started to become completely blurred, he summoned all his remaining strength to pull the sai out of his belly, and the kunai out from between his ribs. He coughed, blood spattering the concrete.

"P-please don't move, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said, her voice shaking, along with her hands. She looked up, her mouth fell open. Ichigo followed her gaze to see LaRell Anlanah in the sky, twin short swords in hand, locked in combat with the murderous stranger, a pair of pure white wings keeping her in the air. It was a stark contrast to the man, whose wings were the same color as everything else about him, coal black.

_Holy shit._ Thought Ichigo as he lost consciousness.

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It had been a long time since Anna had used her wings. But she didn't want him at the advantage of a ground fight.

"Anlanah," Said her twin in English. "It's so good to see you alive!"

She narrowed her eyes, he started laughing.

"Did you think burning my house to the ground would kill me?" She responded bitterly.

"Oh, yes, I did. But I'm so happy it didn't," He paused his eyes flashing. "I've missed you so much."

Rage, vengeance, sadness, they all had a place in battle, just not in large quantities, or to the point of blindness. She charged him, using Fulmen Coniveo in its full force to strike him. Naturally he blocked her right sword strike, but she used the momentum to shift her weight forward. Her leg came up, her knee touching her forehead, and she brought her boot down, catching her brother on the crown of his head. His body soared headfirst down to the building below them, his head connecting with the concrete roof, and going straight through the vacant office building. Anna landed just above the hole she'd made with Adam's face. She drew her sword across her hand, cutting herself.

"_Quia te mea quem sanguis pertinent, pro te mea quem vitae pertinent, tibi quem ego possides et cuium me. Ego præcipio vos aperta, Sanguis Semita_." Anna chanted. Adam shot up from the hole, Anna stepped back swinging her wounded hand at him and the same moment as he swung his sword. His face was enraged.

"YOU BITCH!" He screamed, his sword catching her in the side as the droplets of her blood spread out, covered him in an orb, and shrunk into nothing.

Anna's kodachi disappeared. Blood seeped through Anna's fingers as she landed next to Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime looked up at her, her eyes suddenly widening.

"LaRell-san," Her eyes focused on Anna's neck. "Your neck…" Anna suddenly realized that she had a kunai lodged in her neck. Thankfully, it had missed anything vital, even muscle. Unfortunately, as Anna pulled it out, she noticed that it also reeked of bitter almonds.

"Fuck." She uttered.

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Orihime watched in horror as the student who had saved them, pulled a kunai out of her neck. She watched the woman sway slightly while uttering a curse word, then her eyes rolled back inside of her head and she crumpled to the ground like a sack of bricks. The white wings she had disappeared in a flurry of feathers as she hit the pavement, Ichigo was starting to wake up as the poison was almost gone from his body. Orihime felt faint.

This was bad, really, really bad.

"Oh! Orihime-chan!" Orihime's head snapped up.

"Urahara-san!" Relief spread through her body. "Youkata…" she whispered as all of her energy was suddenly gone. She started to sink down, Soten Kesshun shattering as she fell to the side, the blood loss finally getting to her. She felt huge strong arms catch her and lift her up.

"Arigato, Tessai-san." She said weakly.

"Yare, yare…."Urahara sighed. "Another new person we know nothing about." He lifted LaRell Anlanah and disappeared in a blur as he Shunpōed away. Tessai shifted her so that she was cradled in one huge arm, and bent, roughly lifting Ichigo's half-conscious form, throwing him over his shoulder. Orihime felt a rush of wind as he followed Urahara in the same type of speed movement as the other had left in. Orihime felt her eyelids become too heavy to keep open.

"Orihime-dono, please try to stay conscious." She heard the large man say.

She wished she could.

When Orihime awoke next, it was daylight out. She shot upright in the futon, only to be forced to collapse back down again as pain ripped through her shoulder.

"Ita-ta-ta!" She groaned. She looked around, she was in Urahara's shop, her eyes fell on the bed next to hers where LaRell Anlanah was laying on her back, deathly pale, and eyes closed. Her brow furrowed as she watched the other woman's form. She saw her chest rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern. She still lived.

_Thank the Kami,_ Orihime thought gratefully. She turned her head the other way, looking for Ichigo and not seeing him. A knot tied itself in her belly. She reached out to feel for his reiatsu, and when she did, the knot undid itself and she sighed in relief. She heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Kurosaki-dono, please calm down," came Tessai's deep voice. "Both of them are recovering."

"I want some answers, goddammit!" Ichigo hissed. Orihime smiled, hearing him stomp down the hallway towards the room. She heard a groan next to her.

"It's too bloody early for this fucking racket."

Orihime gasped a little at the foul use of language coming out of the beautiful woman's mouth. She turned to look at her to find LaRell Anlanah sitting up slowly, hand on her side, face pinched slightly in pain.

"LaRell-san, please lay back down," she said softly, her voice hoarse. "You'll reopen your wounds!"

"The fuck with that." The woman replied curtly. "Where the fuck are we?"

"Urahara-san's shop," Orihime said informatively.

"Who the fuck-"

Ichigo yanked back the door, his eyes alight with anger.

"Would you like to explain what the FUCK is going on you psychotic bitch?!" He shouted at LaRell. Orihime's eyes felt like they wanted to pop out of her head.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She said shocked.

"What you really mean to say is: Thank you so much for saving our lives, Anna-chan, we would have died without you!" Anna shot back, a visible vein in her temple popping out a little.

Urahara came up behind Ichigo, grabbing him by the collar and slamming his head into the doorframe, effectively knocking a still weak Ichigo unconscious. Orihime flinched, her jaw dropping as Ichigo went limp, and Urahara caught him by the arm, handing him to Tessai.

"Good to see you two awake! Don't do too much, now." He looked at LaRell. "Anna-san I believe? You really should lay back down. You're bleeding a little."

Anna's eyes widened, a small whisper of "Impossible." Slipped from her mouth as she looked down. Sure enough, the robe she was wearing had a little blood on it. She immediately flopped back onto her bed. Urahara smiled knowingly and walked into the room. Orihime looked away blushing a little as he opened the bottom half of her robe and a white light surrounded his hands as he closed the wound for her. When he was done he knelt beside her, taking her hand and shaking it in a very American way.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the owner of this establishment, Urahara Kisuke! Pleasure to make your acquaintance Anna-san!" He said cheerfully.

"LaRell Anlanah, Douzo." She mumbled in reply. "Thank you for saving me."

"Arigatogozaimasu, Urahara-san." Said Orihime.

Urahara shifted himself so that he could see both girls. He acted as though he was crying a little.

"Both of you are so polite!" He said gratefully. "Unlike that terrible Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Orihime giggled at his familiar antics. Orihime remembered herself and she looked over at LaRell Anlanah.

"LaRell-san, daijobudesuka?" She said a little worried.

"Please, child," Replied the other woman, a certain softness entering her tone. "Call me Anna."

"Uhn!"

Urahara stood, excusing himself politely, and walking to the door.

"You two rest up, now!" He said as he gently slid the door shut. Orihime watched him go, feeling much safer again. She turned back to the transfer student to ask her one of the hundreds of questions floating around in her mind, but she was already fast asleep again.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

When Anna woke again, Orihime Inoue was gone. She tried to focus to hear any voices in the house, but it was quiet. She tried to reach out to sense other people, but there was nothing. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes, then realizing that her sharp vision would not return.

At least not for a few days.

No for the next few days she was a normal, helpless, vulnerable human.

_Fuck me._ She thought wryly to herself.

Before sitting up this time, she checked her body for her wounds, but they'd all vanished. Lingering on them, she felt Inoue Orihime's gentle reiatsu and she smiled to herself a little.

_Remarkable, simply remarkable. _

Anna sat up slowly, seeing a stack of clean clothes next to her pillow as she twisted around, stretching her body. She dressed quickly, and opened the sliding door. She headed to the front of the shop to leave, stopping abruptly when the Urahara man rounded the corner in front of her. She sighed. She wasn't escaping, then, eh?

"Anna-san. I hope you're not going anywhere," Urahara began. "I think you owe our two redheaded friends an explanation." Urahara Kisuke pointed behind her.

"They're waiting in there."

Anna nodded and about faced, walking gracefully to the sitting room. She slid the screen open gently, stepping into the room. But it was not only Ichigo and Orihime sitting there. No, it wouldn't have been that easy. Ishida Uryuu was there, Sado Yatsutora was also, and so were four other people that she didn't know. One was a woman with long wavy blonde hair, a generous bust, and a very pretty face. She was wearing a black shihakusho with a pink ribbon tied under her arms and at her back. The man sitting next to her had the most vibrant crimson hair she'd ever seen. It was actually red, unnaturally so. He had tattoos on his face, and his features were pointed, his clothing the same as the other two. Behind these two, sitting in the corner was a giant of a man, who was wearing thick framed glasses and a comically tight shirt. Finally her eyes fell on a petite woman with large violet eyes and delicate facial features. Her black hair was cut short, and framed her small face.

Anna watched as they all turned and looked at her.

_Fantastic_, Anna thought with sarcasm. _More people to quarter me later._

Anna abruptly slid the door closed and turned around to be stared down by Urahara again.

"I need to make a phone call, we're missing someone." She said steadily. Urahara lifted his head to look her directly in the eyes.

"Oh? And who would you need to call?"

"Ishida Ryuuken."

Urahara Kisuke's look of shock was more than enough satisfaction to Anna.

"Phone?" She asked. He pointed, still unable to speak. She walked over to it, picked it up, and dialed Ryuuken's cell phone number. It rang for what seemed like forever.

"What is it, Kisuke-san?" Came Ryuuken's curt voice.

"It's me, Ryuuken." Anna replied. There was silence on the other end, so she continued. "You need to come here, we both have a lot of explaining to do."

"Tch, I'm on my way." He spat. Then the line went dead. She hung up the phone and walked back to the room, clapping Urahara on the back bringing him back to reality.

She took a deep breath and opened the door again, stepping fully into the room, and quietly taking the only empty seat she could see. Between Uryuu and Ichigo. Right, exactly where she wanted to be. Right next to the two people who would probably be trying to strangle her once Ryuuken got here.

Orihime looked at her a smiled a little, then she turned to the three Shinigami across the table from Anna.

"Rukia-chan, Renji-kun, Rangiku-san, Tessai-san" She started. "This is Anna-sa….this is Anna."

"Douzo." Said Anna flatly.

"So I hear that you saved Ichigo's pathetic ass after he got it handed to him!" Said the one called Rukia gleefully. Anna liked her already. Orihime cleared her throat, looking down her hands.

"I-I'm sorry, Anna-cha….Anna," She stammered. "I told them everything that happened." Anna tilted her head back and to the side at Orihime.

"You apologize for the most unnecessary things." Anna said.

There was a long silence. Anna looked around the table. Did she say something rude? Rangiku was covering her mouth, Rukia and Renji shared a shocked expression of silence, and Uryuu pushed his glasses up on his nose.

But, to her surprise, it was Rangiku who just started bawling into gales of laughter. Once the tension broke, Renji, Rukia, and Orihime all joined in.

Anna noticed with a fair amount of discomfort that Uryuu and Ichigo were not laughing. They weren't even looking at her. The group settled down as the door slid open again and Urahara and Ryuuken came into the room. Urahara stood at one end of the room, Ryuuken at the other, behind Anna. She felt herself stiffen, and she stood quickly.

"Excuse me," She turned to Ryuuken. "We need to have a quick chat outside first." She said in English.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it here, Anna." He replied in Japanese, paused, then: "I knew this would come back to me someday. I had just hoped to be dead by the time it did." He added in English this time. Anna smiled sadly back at him. She turned around, going back to her seat.

"I hope no one has anywhere to be for a while." She began. "Because it's a long story."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**Whew! I know I promised citrus in this, but I assure you, it's coming! I hope you all liked this chapter! I'm getting more and more excited each time I write something new. I know I said in my first post that I would only be updating weekly, well, you've had three updates in one week! So, that being said. I'm probably not going to post anything until mid-next week. Remember, reviews are always appreciated, and I really do take them to heart!**

**Until next time, and thanks again for reading!**

**-Third.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, right off the bat I feel like I need to apologize a little. I work 40 hours a week, and am also a full time student. Thankfully, because I work nights, my social life is lacking on the weekdays, so I'm able to crack out chapters in a few hours. Now, the reason I'm apologizing is because of the many mistakes I've been making because of my sleep deprived brain. I've gone back and fixed these errors as they've been pointed out. And while I'm grateful that they have been pointed out, I'd like to ask that we remain civil. Please correct me if I'm wrong and I'll either correct those mistakes or elaborate on why I used something the way I used it. However, if your comment is cruel, I'll reserve the right to remove it. Anyway, on to this chapter's list of terms!**

**Tengu: Wiki Tengu Folklore please!**** however…and this is gonna sound REALLY GEEKY, Anna is actually descended from the tengu in Pathfinder.**** If you go to Paizo dot com and search for Tengu, you'll see what I mean. Yeah…I know…at least I don't LARP (Live Action Role-Play).**

**Fae: Common term for fairy**

**Fair Folk: Wiki it. They're fairies.**

**Sidhe: Fair Folk, in this story, it's Anna's clan name. It's pronounced like the Japanese "Shi". Don't ask me why, it's Gaelic…**

**Demigod: ****Wiki it**

**Also...I love Wikipedia...**

**Demo: But. Soshite can also be used here, but I like demo better.**

**Baka: Idiot, stupid**

**Naze?: Why?**

**Kottchi: Come or come here**

**Aho: Another word for idiot, though sometimes it's used as asshole.**

**Sumimasen: I apologize**

**Nani: What**

**Ojōsama: My Lady or just Lady**

**Chapter 4**

Anna took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, every eye in the room rapt on her. She wasn't really sure where to begin. Ryuuken cleared his throat behind her, and she felt a vein pop out at her temple.

_Yes, I know, you have things to do, people to save, blah, blah, blah…_She snapped at him mentally.

"Anlanah, perhaps you could start by telling them what you are." Ryuuken suggested, more than just a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Oh! I already know what she is!" Said Orihime excitedly. "You're an angel, right?!"

Anna turned and looked at the girl, her mouth open just a touch. Ryuuken snorted in amusement behind her. She shot him a deadly glare, and smiled gently at Orihime.

"No, child, I'm not an angel." She advised her softly.

"D-demo…you had wings!" Replied the auburn hair defensively. Anna laughed.

"I'm one of the Fair Folk," She explained. "Your people called our ancestors tengu. After Christianity swept the western world, however, a certain….amount of us saw fit to use our features as a means of manipulation on certain parts of the world. We Fae are not very different in constitution from…."She paused, thinking of the word. "I believe you call them Arrancar. We regenerate almost instantly-"

"If that's so," Interrupted Uryuu. "Then why did Orihime have to heal you?"

Anna's teeth clicked together as she clenched her jaw. And through slightly gritted teeth replied:

"I was getting to that, Ishida-kun," She halted her explanation for a moment, not able to deny the need to embarrass Ryuuken's son a little. "And may I say that you're much like your father, he asked that same question 20 years ago." She was satisfied with the "tch" sound that Uryuu made.

"So, as I was saying, my clan is not able to filter the chemical Arsenic as quickly as we'd like. It doesn't kill us, however, it does make us human for reasons unknown, even to those who have researched it. As far as we know, it's actually the damage that it does when it is being filtered through our system that turns us human. I should also mention, that we are utterly helpless when this happens. I probably couldn't even fight off a grade schooler right now. The time in which it takes effect is also determined of how much we are poisoned with. Its effects can begin anywhere between a few seconds, to several minutes. It takes a few days for us to get back to full power, and it depends on how much of the poison got into us. Judging by how much was on the kunai I got hit with, it should take about four days before we can initiate a counter attack."

Anna jumped, as Ichigo unexpectedly lost the loose control he had on his temper.

"I don't really give a shit about all of this stuff." He hissed. "Who was that guy that attacked Inoue?! What happened to him?! Where is he so I can beat the shit out of him?!"

Anna glared at Ichigo murderously.

"I swear, if one more fucking person interrupts me," She said, the vein popping out on her temple again. "I'll-"

Before she could finish, Rukia had reached across the table and hit Ichigo upside the head.

"Baka! She's getting to that part if you'd just shut up!" She shouted. Ichigo looked like a scolded child. He faced forward silent and brooding. Rukia turned back to look at Anna smiling sweetly. "Please continue, Anna-san."

"Yes, thank you." She replied. "Now where was I? Ah yes, the man who attacked you, Orihime-chan, is my twin brother, Adam. As much as I'd like not to admit it, he is more powerful than I am. The most I could do to stop him was send him home in a weak seal. It'll take him about two weeks or so to work his way out of it, he's not very smart."

Anna took a deep breath.

"He attacked you, Orihime-chan, because he found out that I planned to use you as a way to reseal him permanently. You see, Adam is what my clan calls a Demigod. Meaning that he is unimaginably powerful. Your ability can reverse the seal to its original state before it weakened."

_Here comes the big reveal, _Anna thought. She turned her body around, facing Ryuuken, bowing deeply, still on her knees. "I am sorry, Ryuuken. I lied to you. I hope you will understand the situation, and forgive me."

She faced the table again to concerned looks.

"I had planned to kidnap you, Orihime-chan, take you back to my world, and force you to help me with the seal." Orihime looked shocked.

"D-demo, naze?" She asked, sadness in her voice. "Why didn't you just ask? I would certainly have helped you, Anna."

"Because the amount of energy you would need to expend to rewind time around it would kill you, my dear." Anna said sadly. "It took every living person in my clan to create that seal, it even killed the weaker ones of the family. Let me explain the extent of what we are dealing with. Ryuuken, I trust you'll have no complaints if I also go through the parts with you in them?"

"No."

"Very well, my clan name is Sidhe, LaRell is my married name. While I may look young, I am approximately 325 in your human years. 22 years ago, when I met Ryuuken, I had just been named the head of the clan…."

_Anna stepped through the Blood Gate, a building sized ball of what literally looked like swirling blood. Her body left it as though she were coming from a thick mass of liquid, though not a drop of the stuff stuck to her. Her five most trusted retainers emerged after her. As the last of her men exited the gate into the human world, the large orb shrunk in on itself and into non-existence. She stood in front of six Quincies, all from different clans. Ishida Sōken stepped forward to greet her. They bowed at the same time._

_"Anlanah-Ojōsama," He said formally." It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."_

_"The pleasure is mine, Ishida Sōken-sama." She replied, likewise respectful. They straightened at the same time, and as she did, she caught eyes with a young man. His face was utterly serious, and his deep blue eyes showed that he was reluctant to be there. Sōken motioned and started introducing her to the Quincies who would be in her service. When at last he got to the blue eyed Quincy, Anna was taken slightly aback. Even with the look of youth on his features, she had been sure that he was much older._

_"And, this is Ishida Ryuuken, my son." He said. The boy nodded respectfully, but said nothing. Anna followed suit. _When in Rome_, she thought. Though she was surprised that such a young man held such a high rank. _

_"I am most grateful to you, Ishida-sama, for helping us." She said to Sōken._

_"From what I understand, this is a matter that concerns all of us." He replied._

_"It is, my mad brother intends to merge the worlds," She said scowling. "All of them. He thinks you humans need to be 'subjugated' to be used as our slaves. Bloody fool, he seems to believe that the universe belongs to him."_

_"How long do we have before he's obtained the proper support to complete his goals?" Asked the boy before her._

_"About two months. We have time to prepare counter measures, but not as much as I'd like. We would like for you Quincy to protect us while we pin him down, and seal him. He will have supporters, but only as many as he can gather in two months. Communication in our world is not as advanced as yours. We are only able to communicate through runners and carrier pigeons. My men are working to keep as many of those messages from reaching their intended recipients, but I cannot guarantee this will be easy."_

_"I understand, Anlanah-Ojōsama." Responded the other clan head. _

**_Two Weeks Later_**

_"No, boy! I already told you," Scolded Anna. "With our kind, you must act quickly. The first strike is imperative. You must not give me the opportunity to think! You must enrage me, force me to lose my concentration! Do whatever you must to achieve that goal. Taunt me, provoke me, shock me!"_

_She circled around Ryuuken as she drilled him. _

_"Now get up!" _

_Ryuuken made no noise of pain as he moved his body. She had probably bruised him badly in half a dozen places. But, he was so damned, stubborn! He would not rethink the training he had received from the other Quincies. _

_"Joints take longer to heal, you want to aim for those if you cannot aim for their head. Mind the wings, too. If they get airborne it will be that much harder to deal with them."_

_Anna positioned herself for another round of sparing. Instead of her kodachi, she held two short wooden replicas. She needed to go as full out as she could without killing him. _

_"Kottchi!" She barked. Ryuuken disappeared using Hirenkyaku. She was able to see flashes of him as he circled her. The arrows he fired at her she easily deflected. She started to get bored with his constant circling and firing. _

How unoriginal_, she thought, getting frustrated. She was so busy following him in a circle and tracing his movements, that she didn't anticipate him behind her when she moved to strike him. She felt an arrow go clean through her shoulder. She whirled around, but he wasn't behind her any longer, this time, she couldn't see where he'd gone. _

_Her shoulder slowly knitted itself back together as she spread out her consciousness, looking for him in the large training area at the Ishida family property. She pinpointed him, immediately using Fulmen Coniveo to get to his exact location. _

_But, he wasn't there. Instead, it was a pentagram of Seel Schneiders around her. And as soon as she landed on the ground, she heard a crunch, looking down, she saw that she had crushed the needed container of reishi used to activate the technique. Anna's eyes almost bugged out of her head. Her wings burst out, folding around her instantly just as the Sprenger went off. They shielded her some, but she still felt the powerful attack burn her arms and legs as her wings dissolved around her from the force. Once the explosion had subsided, she staggered back, drawing in ragged breaths as her burns began to heal. _

_She felt Ryuuken's reiatsu behind her in a flash, the sharp end of a Seel Schneider too close for comfort to her neck._

_"Checkmate, Anlanah-san." He said with a satisfied smirk. "Yield."_

_She smiled wickedly._

_"GOOD!" She shouted, half deaf from the explosion. "You do learn!" _

_Her burns had healed now, lightning fast, with Fulmen Coniveo, she shifted her wooden practice swords so the right one's blade was positioned perpendicular to her arm the blade facing backwards, and the left sword's blade facing outward. She ducked her head under the Seel Schneider he had at her throat, rotating her body at the same time. Her right leg went straight out and up into the air to balance her out as she spun on one foot, her right sword catching Ryuuken in the ribs, the left in the leg. He grunted, his eyes wide as his body turned sideways and hit the dirt._

_Ryuuken lay on his side, hardly able to breathe. Anna had felt his rib break under her sword, maybe she had been a little too rough. But she wouldn't stop until he was unconscious, or until he yielded. That had been their agreement. She kicked him onto his back, strolling up to him, she sat down on his legs, and leaned over him, the point of one wooden sword poking him gently in his armpit, the other at his throat._

_"Yield." She said, looking intently into his face. His face was contorted in both pain, and rage. He clenched his jaw._

_"I yield." He spat. She moved off of him, setting her swords to the side. She shook her head, smiling slightly. She knelt next to him, holding her hands over his ribs. Her hands began to glow a soft blue. Ryuuken coughed and grunted as his rib healed slowly, and painfully._

_"You were really intent on killing me today," She complimented him. "Good work."_

_"It's pretty easy to want to kill you, with the way you talk to people, you know." He managed a small smile. _

_When she was done healing his broken rib, she moved to his shattered calf, he sat up slowly, wincing while he watched her._

_"That really is amazing. It's not like anything I've ever read about or seen before."_

_"Thank you. My father called it 'Bone Talking', he was the one who developed the technique. All I'm doing it encouraging your body to heal like mine." She said with pride in her voice. She sat back on her heels when she was done. _

_"You still need to work on your speed, however, Ryuuken." She chided him gently. "Hirenkyaku can rival Fulmen Coniveo. I can feel there is a potential there to move faster."_

_"I was moving faster than normal. It's that damn trickster's technique you use that's impossible to keep up with!" Exclaimed the dark haired young man. _

_Anna leaned forward, shifting her weight back to her knees, one hand on her hip, the other pointing at him._

_"So go for my knees! I can't move very fast if I have a leg injury, now can I?" She sighed and dropped her hand. "Enough sparring for today. We'll practice on your reiatsu detection some more next. You need to know how to look for us since our signature is a little different from what you're used to." She went to stand, Ryuuken's hand shot out gripping her wrist. She stopped to look into his overly serious face. _

_"What?" She said, "What is it?"_

_"Y-you said yesterday in the drawing room that there's a possibility you might die." He paused. "Is that true?"_

_Stunned that he had such a concerned, childish look on his face, her mouth moved for a second with no sound. When she found her voice again, all she could say was:_

_"Yes."_

_Today was full of surprises from him. Ryuuken yanked Anna abruptly into a tight embrace, practically pulling her on top of him. _

_"Ryuuken, wha-?" She started._

_"Don't die." He said into her ear. "Please, don't die." She pulled her body away from his enough so she could look him in the eyes. Their faces were so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. _

_She thought about closing the small distance between them with her lips-_

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Said Renji, waving his hands in Anna's face. "I really don't think that's relevant to what's going on here. Can you just cut to the chase?"

Anna wasn't upset that she'd been interrupted this time. Seeing both Ichigo's and Uryuu's crimson faces was enough of a reward for her. Orihime was also bright red, looking down into her lap, playing nervously with her hands. However, she could feel Ryuuken's eyes firing angry bolts of electricity into the back of her head.

"I could stand to hear a little more…"Said Rangiku playfully, smiling.

"No, Renji-kun is right," Anna said, then admitting: "I told that little bit mostly just for fun."

"Long story short, about a month and a half later, after I had trained Ryuuken, and he had trained the rest of our Quincy body guards, I lured Adam to a particular spot we had prepared. Now, something you need to understand is that there were my five retainers, and six Quincy as the core unit. The rest of my direct bloodline, the Sidhe, had already prepared the basis of the seal. Included in my retainers was my cousin, Areen, my son, Malcolm, my sister, Aiele, my mother, Anrellie, and my daughter, Tajin."

"W-what happened to them, Anna?" Asked Orihime tentatively. Anna looked directly at her, meeting her eyes, then catching Ichigo's (who was now listening as intently as the rest).

"They died. Adam killed the remaining survivors last month." Anna kept her tone as matter-of-fact as possible. "He and I are all that's left of our bloodline."

Orihime's eyes welled up with tears, and they immediately started streaming down her cheeks. Anlanah was taken aback. Rubbing the tears away, Orihime calmed herself a little. Still crying just a bit as she spoke.

"I'm-hic-so sorry-hic-Anna! That's so-hic-sad!" She said between her tears. Anna smiled sadly, but with a certain fondness for her. She was a little surprised when she saw Ichigo's hand reach out nervously to gently rub her back while she cried.

"There is no need to shed tears for me child. Death is a thing I am accustomed to, even given my long lived nature."

"So," Began Uryuu, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "How did he get out of the seal?"

Anna stiffened, and she heard Ryuuken shift uncomfortably behind her.

"This is a part I will relive to help you understand as much as you can." She said slowly. "I'll warn you, it is not pleasant."

"We had managed to lure Adam to the gigantic cavern in which we had prepared everything, it wasn't hard, all I had to do was tell him I wanted to surrender and where to meet. Like I'd said before, my brother is not very smart. However, he was smart enough to bring a much larger force that we had anticipated. And it wasn't long before we were overwhelmed…"

_It was chaos in the large hollowed out cave. Reishi arrows were firing everywhere, enemies dropping like flies. They were faced with almost a thousand men. While it wasn't a lot in terms of military strength, it was impossible for five people to overcome. Anna and her family had not expected Adam to obtain so many, and most of the family was occupied with keeping him tied down, while the elite of the family worked on the incantation for the seal. Amidst the sounds of battle, there was the sounds of voices all reciting different incantations at once. Some were spells used to bind, entangle, or slow. Others were incantations of seals, barriers, and enslavement. Anna's was the final puzzle piece to the many different weavings of words. _

_Hers was a spell of eternal slumber. _

_When Ryuuken had heard how powerful Adam was, he had expressed that he could probably break through any seal they put on him. Anna had affirmed this. She had attempted once before to seal him, and he had broken it. Adam had sought her and her husband, Gabriel, out. He'd forced her to watch while he had tortured him to death in front of her. Ryuuken had been the one to suggest putting him to sleep, and making all the other spells that work with it, ones that would prevent him from being disturbed. The only catch was, that a spell of that magnitude would require massive amounts of power. The only one capable of the feat was Anna. _

_"Oh, dea sopiantur, et custos infernorum, surgere, et percute tibi unguibus contra extinctor mundos. Aperite portas, quod vilissimum dem in iram facit telam contra rationem mundi. Et in tuo venter sitis exhaurire vita sua vis ab eo, RESCRIBO logicam de hoc mundo." She chanted. "Requiem aeternum, qui non erant. Dare tenebrae loco lucis. Dare aliquid non amare, turbandam non habeat in arentibus testam. Venenum in somnum aeterna." _

_She was on her second round of that little score. She only had one more to go. She watched, unflinching as a sai went through a Quincy's defenses, and through Naheal's (one of Anna's cousins) neck. The woman crumpled, Anna felt her death, her heart twisting at the sight. In the center of the cavern, trapped in a myriad of spells, Adam was screaming in rage._

_"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!" He howled, wrenching an arm free as soon as the hold on him loosened. He felled another member of the family with a burst of lightning from his hand. Their body twitched, and then was still. His handsome face twisted with even more fury as his eyes fell on Anna. Areen's husband Tastu stepped in to take Naheal's place. Adam's loose hand was captured again by Tatsu's entanglement spell, roots from nowhere wrapping around his arms and legs, keeping him still. _

_"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He screamed at her. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"_

_Anna started the final repetition of the incantation. An opaque orb started forming around Adam, and started to darken with each word the sealers spoke. _

_And that's when everything went wrong. A kunai caught Tastu through the ear, killing him instantly. The roots disappeared around Adam. His hand sparked with electricity as he turned to Anna. She was about to say her last word, she would die if she didn't move, but he would be sealed. Just that last word, and the worlds, all of them, would be safe. _

_Anna braced herself for death._

_"Venenum in somnum aeter-"her breath was suddenly knocked out of her before she could finish her last word. She felt the fine hairs all over her body stand on end as though she were about to be struck by lightning. Probably because she basically was. But not a millisecond passed and she was in Ryuuken's arms, away from the main battle, and the attack that Adam had tried to kill her with. _

_Judging by the force that was needed to take the air out of her lungs like he had when he used Hirenkyaku to save her, she guessed that he had probably broken the sound barrier. She pitched forward to watch the seal's completion. _

No,_ she thought desperately. _NO! He's still awake!

_"NO!" She screamed aloud as Ryuuken held her firmly. The seal was closing on him fast, but Adam still had enough time to jeer at her, that murderous, insane laughter filled the room._

_"I'll come for you, dear little sister!" He shouted to her. "I'll come for you and savor every moment of pain I make you feel!" _

_The orb around him closed completely, shrinking down rapidly to the size of a small crystal ball. A soft 'tink' sound echoed through the suddenly quiet room as the entire battle halted to watch the spectacle, the black orb bounced once on the stone floor, and then lay still. Suddenly, the one thousand lesser Fae realized that 50 of the most powerful of the Fair Folk were able to fight. Calls of retreat from each small squadron of men sounded, and the cave was empty. _

_Anna watched in horror as Tajin and Areen both turned to her, smiles still on their faces from their success. Then, almost in unison, both young women collapsed, their reiatsu, and their life energy completely expended. Malcolm caught his little sister, barely able to hold her, and fell to his knees with her in his arms, calling her name over and over again. _

_Anna felt numb, she could hear someone calling her name._

_"Anna….Anna…." Came Ryuuken's voice. "Anlanah….please say something…."_

_She sunk down to her knees, Ryuuken following her, arms still around her, supporting her. She turned her head, her crystal blue eyes meeting his ocean colored ones._

_"You bloody fool," She said without conviction. "You should have let me die."_

_Ryuuken's face twisted in some emotion Anna didn't have the capacity to fathom at the moment. Her daughter just died, three of her cousins were killed in the battle, Adam had murdered her husband three months before, and God only knew how many more would die tonight from their injuries. And it had all been in vain. _

_"Let go of me…." She whispered hoarsely._

_"Anna-"_

_"LET GO!" She screamed at him. He released her as if bitten and backed away. She collapsed in on herself almost instantly. It was too much. A low moan escaped from her. She felt like there was no air in the room. She clutched her chest, hardly noticing her own agonized sobs._

All in vain, it was all in vain…_Was all that she could think._

_The world went black._

The room was silent as Anna finished the pointed part of her story. Orihime was now openly weeping again.

"You must understand, all of you. He is beyond any one person. 22 years in the seal may have weakened him, but this will be a nigh impossible task without Orihime. It took 50 people, all taicho, or fukutaicho level to subdue him." She said severely.

"Anna-san." Came Urahara's voice. "We recently had a similar situation here. There may be a way that we Shinigami can assist you."

"It's quite late, Urahara-san. We may want to talk about this tomorrow." Said Tessai. The other nodded.

Anna stood, and turned to walk out of the sitting room.

"It may be a good idea to stick together, Anna-chan." Said Urahara.

"I need to fetch some things from my home. Don't worry, Adam won't be back for at least a week." She caught the blonde haired man's eye. "However, I'm inclined to agree with you. I'll be back once I've fetched my things."

She felt Ryuuken's eyes on her as she walked away.

As soon as she was halfway down the street, she felt him behind her again.

"Anna, wait." He said.

"I'll not have this conversation here, Ryuuken." She said coldly. "Come to my apartment if you want to discuss this with me. I don't need prying ears on this."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**Six Hours Earlier**

When Orihime woke up next she guessed a whole day had probably gone by. While her wounds hadn't fully healed yet, she felt energized again. She turned her head to the side to see if Anna was still sleeping. The other woman's face was relaxed, and her eyes closed. Orihime smiled softly at the beautiful woman as she listened to the soft rhythmic sound of her breathing.

Now that she had more energy back, she called Soten Kisshun out to heal the older woman completely. Once her injuries were gone, she used it on herself. Orihime quietly dressed in the clothes that Urahara had left for her. Strange, though, it was actually something from her own wardrobe.

Well that's odd, she thought.

Orihime made her way to the sitting room where she heard some familiar voices. Her heart jumped for joy.

"Aho! What did you think would happen from disturbing his patients?" She heard Rukia scold.

"Yeah, but was it really necessary to slam my head into a doorframe?" She heard Ichigo contest. "I was injured too, you know!"

Orihime slid the door open and poked her head in. She saw Renji, Matsumoto, and Rukia around the table with Ichigo, Sado, and Uryuu opposite of them.

"Perhaps that would have been something you should have considered prior to throwing a fit like a spoiled child, Kurosaki." Uryuu stated flatly. Ichigo was visibly annoyed.

"What did you just say, four-eyes?"

"Did I stutter? I'll say it slower so your small brain can comprehend it." Hissed Uryuu. "You. Are.A. Spoiled. Child." Ichigo opened his mouth to attempt to fire back at his friend when he was interrupted with Orihime's giggle as she entered the room fully. Orihime was confused by the look that suddenly washed over his face. Was….was that relief?

She turned her head away from his intense gaze and sat between Ichigo and Sado. As soon as she did, she felt herself wishing she'd sat between Ichigo and Uryuu, they'd be less likely to fight that way. She greeted her friends, unable to hide her excitement at their presence.

"Orihime, how are you feeling?" Asked Rukia.

"Oh! I'm all better!" She exclaimed, waving her previously injured shoulder about." See! Good as new! I healed it the rest of the way a few minutes ago. Urahara-san did such a good job there wasn't much left to do!"

Orihime paused as she suddenly realized that she shop keep was not there, and neither was Tessai. Her next realization was that Rukia, Renji, and Mastumoto were there when they should have been back in Soul Society.

"By the way, Rangiku-san, Rukia, Renji," she said. "Why are you here?"

"Ukitake-taicho sent us here when he got word from Kurotsuchi-taicho that there was a large flux of unknown reiatsu over Kurakura." Rukia responded. "Since the three of us were the most familiar with the town, they opted to send us here."

"Oh, I'm so glad they did, too!" Piped Rangiku. "I can't wait to go shopping-that is, after we take care of the disturbance of course."

"Ichigo told us some of what happened, but as usual, he wasn't much help in the detail department." Said Renji.

Orihime understood, and agreed, recounting every detail she could recall to her friends. When she spoke about how the strange man had hurt her, she felt herself shaking almost uncontrollably, and she struggled to find the best words to describe how terrifyingly insane and powerful he had been.

"You were very brave, Orihime." Said Rukia, reaching across the table to offer her hand. Orihime took Rukia's hand, her own still trembling. Rukia encased both of Orihime's hand. "It's over now, okay?"

Orihime felt tears roll down her cheeks, surprised to discover that she was crying. She gently pulled away from Rukia and quickly wiped away the evidence of her weakness, apologizing.

Ichigo hadn't said a word to her, let alone looked her in the eye. He blamed himself, she knew he did. She felt a small voice inside of her become upset with him.

_It's my fault for being reckless_, she thought to herself. _It's my fault for being weak._

Tessai peeked in through the door, a tray full of snacks and tea in hand. Orihime felt her stomach growl suddenly at the sight of food. She blushed brightly as the three Shinigami laughed at her.

"Sumimasen…" She mumbled as Tessai set the tray down in front of them.

"It's no problem, Orihime-dono," Said Tessai. "Urahara-san said that you all might be hungry by now."

Tessai took a seat in the corner of the room like he was awaiting someone. At that very moment, the door slid open again, everyone turned to see who it was this time.

Anna took one look at the group and immediately closed the door.

"Eh? Nani?" Inquired Orihime, confused.

"Who was that?" Asked Renji.

"That was LaRell Anlanah, the cause of this whole mess." Uryuu gritted. A few moments later, Anna came back in and sat down between Uryuu and Ichigo. Orihime couldn't help but feel nervous around her. Though Anna seemed like a good enough person, part of her could shake the harsh words that she had said the other night. How she had yelled at her, her voice strained and harsh, even cruel. She had been shocked to see the beautiful foreigner battle so fiercely against that frightening man. And Orihime still felt like she must have dreamt seeing her sprout wings and actually fly.

A short, but candid conversation carried on. All the while, Ichigo remained completely silent. Orihime found herself apologizing again, this time for telling the group what had happened two nights ago. When Urahara and Ryuuken walked into the room and took their own respective places, Orihime found herself very puzzled. Why was Ishida-sensei here?

Anna spoke:

"I hope no one has anywhere to be for a while," She began. Orihime thought her voice sounded like it was full of trepidation. "Because it's a long story."

The blue eyed woman paused for a long moment, as if searching for a good place to start her explanation.

"Anlanah, perhaps you could start by telling them what you are." Ryuuken said impatiently. Orihime felt her heart lift. She was blurting out her conclusion as Anna opened her mouth to speak.

"Oh! I already know what she is!" Said Orihime excitedly. "You're an angel, right?!" Orihime heart a snort of laughter from Uryuu's father behind her. Did she say something funny?

"No, child, I'm not an angel." She advised her softly with a gentle smile.

"D-demo…you had wings!" Replied the auburn hair defensively. Anna laughed.

"I'm one of the Fair Folk," She explained. "Your people called our ancestors tengu. After Christianity swept the western world, however, a certain….amount of us saw fit to use our features as a means of manipulation on certain parts of the world. We Fae are not very different in constitution from…."She paused, thinking of the word. "I believe you call them Arrancar. We regenerate almost instantly-"

"If that's so," Interrupted Uryuu. "Then why did Orihime have to heal you?"

As Anna explained what she was, Orihime's mind started to wrap around it. Yes, something frightening like a Tengu definitely made more sense. But she refused to believe that the woman who had saved her and Ichigo was a bad person, she wanted to believe in her.

And then came the bombshell. Orihime was very confused at first. Why? Why didn't she think she would have helped her?

"D-demo, naze?" She asked, sadness in her voice. "Why didn't you just ask? I would certainly have helped you, Anna."

Then, as Anna explained the situation, understanding dawned on her. Orihime could see the guilt on her face. It had been a hard conclusion for Anna to come to, and Orihime's heart went out to her. She wasn't sure that she would have voluntarily helped her knowing that she would have almost certainly died. She may not have agreed with Anlanah's way of going about things, but she understood.

As Orihime listened to the older woman's story. She found herself completely engrossed in it. It was compelling to say the least, and as she neared the end of her tale, Orihime felt tears stream down her cheeks. It was just so sad. She had lost everything, her home, her family, her life, and yet she still had the strength and the courage to continue. Her heart went out to her, ached for her. Along with her gratefulness to the woman for saving her and Ichigo, she now felt a strong sense of admiration and respect.

Anna left abruptly after finishing her tale, advising of her intentions to fetch some clothes and then return later. A light bulb went off in Orihime's head.

"Oh! Urahara-san, "She said turning to him." I almost forgot to ask you, how did my clothes get here?"

Rangiku waved Orihime's spare apartment key smiling cheerfully.

"That was me! But I only grabbed one outfit because we didn't have much time." She explained. Orihime was glad, she thanked Rangiku and stood from the table.

"I need to go home myself, then," She said standing. Ichigo's head snapped up at her, his brooding spell suddenly broken.

"Not alone, you're not." He snapped.

"But, Anna said that we're safe for now." She ventured timidly.

"Like hell we are. She only said that he wouldn't be able to come here for a while, she never said that he couldn't send someone else." Responded Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun is probably right," Urahara chimed in. "And what with four freeloaders that I'll have here, unfortunately I won't be able to let her stay here. Why not stay with her, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo's face turned the same color as Renji's hair, his mouth worked, but no sound came out. Orihime felt her own face grow hot at the suggestion.

"That is unless you want her to stay at your house." Urahara said, splaying out his fan and hiding his expression.

"N-no, I-I'll go." He stood, pausing. "Urahara-san, did you-?"

"Call your father already? Oh yes, I already called Tatsuki as well to inform them of the current situation. Tatsuki gave her permission to let you watch over Orihime-chan, and your father said that he would make up a reasonable excuse for your sisters." Said Urahara cheerfully. Orihime smiled, that was Urahara-san for you, always on top of things.

Ichigo's expression, however, went completely still. Orihime couldn't tell if he was angry, or frustrated, or anything really. Ichigo walked past her, grabbing her wrist as he passed her, practically dragging her out the door.

"Wait, Kurosaki-kun!" She exclaimed. "I have to get my purse!" Ichigo released her wrist, and cast his eyes downward, mumbling an apology. Orihime went and grabbed her purse from the room she had been sleeping in earlier. This time, they exited Urahara's shop side by side.

**And here ends Chapter 4! I have a week break from my classes this week! Yay! So I'll be posting again soon. As I've been writing this, I feel like my pacing is a little too fast. I've always had the problem where I go too fast with the story because I don't want to lose key moments before I can get them down. I'm trying to slow this story down so I can develop the characters' relationships a little more. Originally, I thought that this story was going to be at least 25 chapters, now I'm thinking it might end up shorter. I do draw out plotlines, and for the most part, I've stuck to my original draft. I plan to stick to my plot, but I'll also be writing it until I feel that it's over. So, while it might not be 20 plus chapters, I promise I won't compromise anything of the story for brevity. As always. Thanks so much for reading, and feel free to give feedback!**

**-Third**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yoshi! New chapter! **

**First, thank you all so much for reading. The majority of the feedback I've gotten has been very positive and I feel very humbled. **

**I did want to make mention of something, however.**

**I love languages and culture, particularly Japanese culture. While I don't like Romanizing Japanese very much, I do think that because of the nature of their culture and their language some things are just better said in Japanese. It's like the difference between watching dubbed anime and subbed anime. Once I started watching subbed anime, I could never watch it any other way. Especially with Bleach. I tried watching the dubbed episodes and all I could think, every time Johnny Yong Bosch voiced Ichigo was "OMG! It's the black Power Ranger!" Ah, shit, I think I just dated myself….**

**Terms:**

**Chapter 5**

The silence between Ichigo and Orihime was deafening. But, no matter how hard he tried to broach it, he found that he just couldn't. He wanted to apologize to her. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn't let her get hurt again, but he was beginning to realize how unrealistic that promise was. He was such an asshole, after all the promises he'd made to both her and to himself, he'd failed again.

He had been glad earlier that she was too preoccupied in crying for Anna to notice his hand on her back. It had happened before he'd realized it. As soon as he noticed, he had pulled his hand away as discreetly as he could.

Anna, he had wanted to be angry at her, to blame her for Orihime's injuries. But he couldn't be, it had sounded like she thought she had been out of options. Ichigo would have fought the bastard himself, but it seemed like she didn't think she'd be able to manage a straight out fight. Ichigo could understand that. Before he had learned how to use Mugestu when fighting Aizen, he had felt like the scope of the man's power was entirely beyond him. He had been so afraid to fail, maybe Anna felt the same with her brother. That she would fight him, go all out, and still loose.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime said tentatively, pulling him out of his reverie. He realized that they were already at her apartment. He had been so deep in thought, he'd forgotten all about the awkward silence they'd been in.

"Right behind you, Inoue." He mumbled watching her pass him and go up the stairs in front of him. She wore a light blue skirt with light pink floral print that trailed down just past her knees. On her upper half, she wore a solid pink, sleeveless cowl neck shirt with a light jacket over it. Ichigo found himself slightly annoyed by Rangiku's choice of clothing for her. The entire ensemble was tortuous for him, like the blonde Shinigami had chosen it specifically to bring his attention to her ample breasts. He already felt guilty enough as it was, and here he was leering at her like a pervert.

Orihime's hips swayed to and fro in front of him, her long auburn hair had grown long, cascading around her and curling attractively at the ends. She reached her front door and fumbled for her keys to unlock the door. She was smiling nervously, babbling about taking a bath really quick and getting clothes.

"Y-y-you can c-certainly still come in, K-K-Kurosaki-kun," She stuttered, her cheeks blushing furiously. "Feel f-f-free to w-w-watch whatever you w-want on the television…"

God, what would he ever do if he lost her?

He didn't know, he really didn't know. His dream from a few nights back had made it obvious about his immediate reaction, but what of after that? How would he move on?

It felt more real to him now than ever, he'd come so close to letting her slip from him so many times.

Which one would be the last?

Which one would be the one time he couldn't save her?

Couldn't protect her?

As soon as the door to Orihime's apartment closed behind them, away from the rest of the watching world, his arms reached out and surrounded her, pulling her into him abruptly. She let out a squeak of surprise as she fell into him. He buried his face into her hair, the smell of orange blossoms filling his nose. He never wanted to let her go, hell, he didn't think he could.

"I'm sorry, Orihime." He whispered into her ear, his body shaking. He felt her body stiffen a little in surprise of the use of her first name.

"Kurosaki-kun-"She began.

"Ichigo."

"Eh?"

"My name, Orihime, please," He sighed.

"I-I-Ichigo…" She said haltingly, trying it out. "What's w-wrong? W-why are you apologizing?"

"I failed to protect you….again," He replied, squeezing his eyes shut as hard as he could. He felt her try to escape his grasp, and with much reluctance, he let her go. She turned to face him, her cheeks flaming red. Her hands reached out to him, cupping his face gently. His heart skipped a beat. The look in her eyes was both worried, empathic, and wondrously flustered at the same time.

"No, no, it's my fault," She insisted. "I wasn't cautious enough, please, please, Kuro…Ichigo, please don't blame yourself."

He laid his hand over hers, suddenly tears began to sting the backs of his eyes. At least they weren't lacking for personal guilt…

"I can't lose you," He whispered, stepping closer to her, his own hands finding their way to curl around the back of her neck gently.

He closed the distance between them, his lips meeting her's in a fervent kiss. He felt her momentary shock as his forwardness, then she relaxed into it. Her hands released his face and wrapped around his neck. His free hand dropped to her waist, pulling her into him. He felt her inhale sharply, but not in pain. He didn't know what that gasp was, but it drove him wild. He pulled away, not wanting to, but there was more to be said. He found her eyes, her expression confused, but….eager.

_Here goes…._He thought.

"I love you, Orihime." He waited with baited breath for her answer. Waiting for her to reject him.

"Oh," She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. He felt his heart crack. "I'm having one of those dreams again." She finished. "There's no way you would tell me that without me dreaming it."

Relief washed over him as he suddenly comprehended what she meant. He laughed lightly, almost giddily.

"You're not dreaming," He kissed her again, harder this time. He felt her hands pushing on his shoulders and he released her, suddenly afraid he had hurt her.

"I'm not dreaming…" She said, her eyes suddenly lucid and clear.

"That's what I just said, Hime." He replied teasingly.

"You just said you love me." She said, almost as a question.

"And I meant it." He responded, now on pins and needles again. A knot twisting in his belly. She looked at him as the realization hit her fully. He didn't think that her face could be any more flushed than it already was, but it did. Her lips parted in a small "o", and then suddenly broke into a smile, her smile. She stood on her tiptoes, kissing him this time with such gusto he stumbled back against the door. When it broke, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face hot against his cheek, her heart pounding against his chest.

"I love you." She said huskily. "I've always loved you."

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Orihime's heart was pounding in her chest harder and faster than it ever had before. There were so many emotions running rampant in her that she couldn't begin to sort them out. She didn't really want to, though, there wasn't an unpleasant feeling among them. Ichigo's arms slid down, wrapping around her waist as he lifted her up, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist to hold her balance so she didn't topple both of them over. His hands shifted quickly to support her body by gripping her thighs. Her skirt had hiked up so that his hands grabbed bare skin. They both felt it, more than the kissing, it was like electricity moved through them both as his hands touched her smooth legs. She leaned back, only to rock forward again for another heated and passionate kiss. Her fingers ran through his bright orange hair from the base of his neck.

Still locked in their kiss, Ichigo moved himself from against the door, walking with Orihime towards the pillows on the floor by her kotatsu. He bent, allowing the kiss to break as he set her down, then crawled over top of her. A sudden thought caught her as she held out a hand to stop him. She didn't want to stop, but….

"I-I-I need to take a bath." She stammered.

He stared down at her intently, a flurry of things passing behind his eyes that Orihime had never seen before. Seeing him with that look in his eyes made her heart feel like it was going to implode. It was strange, and unfamiliar. But at the same time, she felt this wild fluttering through her whole body. The closest thing she could describe it to was going on a roller coaster for the first time.

"Ichigo?" Calling him by name was so natural now that he had asked her to.

"I'm thinking."

"Eh?"

He rolled away from her, sitting with one leg straight out, the other bent, his arm resting on it, hand running through his hair. It looked like the wind had been taken out of his sails just a little.

"Go."

"Eh?"

"Go get in the bath before I change my mind!"

She couldn't help but smile at that, but not wanting to find out at the moment what would happen if she didn't go to bathe now, she jumped up and skittered to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her heart raced like mad, she lay her hand over it, trying to will it to be calm.

Maybe a cool bath instead of a hot one was in order. She turned the water on in the bath, making sure to make it luke warm. She undressed while it filled. Her thoughts were still racing. While it was a simple thing, it felt like too much to take in at once. But, over all the years of loving him, never once did she think he'd love her back. Maybe, in a future lifetime, she thought he would, but never now.

If this really was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ichigo sat in the same position as he had when Orihime had gone to her bathroom. It had taken a lot of willpower to let her go, but he could see how uncomfortable she'd been.

Images of her nude body in the water kept invading his thoughts. The way the dim light would play off of her clean ivory skin. Her wet hair, dark and clinging slightly to her face and her breasts…

He rubbed his face with his hands hard. He needed to calm down. The last thing he wanted was the embarrassment of a tent showing through his pants when she came back.

Finally, he was able to cool himself a little. He breathed, flopping back onto the sitting pillows in her living room, one arm cast over his eyes.

She'd said that she had always loved him, didn't she? Much like his realization about his feelings for her, he went over all of his memories again.

It made sense, he'd just been too dense and too stupid to notice. Well, the constant fighting had probably played a hand in that, too.

There was no way that he was going to let her help LaRell Anlanah, he would find another way to defeat this Adam person. He would find another solution, maybe Urahara had something up his sleeve. Didn't he mention something about that? It didn't matter, he wouldn't let her get anywhere near that psychopath again.

What the fuck was up with all of this anyway? He knew that they had to do something, the situation was definitely dangerous. Fighting to prevent the end of the world for him was nothing new. And of course, Orihime was getting caught in the middle again. Shit, she'd probably help them anyway, knowing she'd die. His fists clenched, one at his side, the other over his eyes.

No, no, he would remove her from this situation and handle this himself.

Even if it killed him.

"I-Ichigo?" Her voice called softly. "Are you alright?"

He lifted his hand from his face. She was leaning over his body slightly on her knees, her wet hair clinging to her skin just as he had imagined it would. The white fabric of her nightgown pooled at her knees on the carpet. He was sure that she was torturing him. The night wear was made of thin fabric, the waistline puckering just under her breasts. It was obvious that she was a little cold in that get up by the way her perfect nipples protruded gently underneath the fabric. It took all of about a second for him to sweep her body and move back to her face, which he focused on as much as he could.

"Yeah…. yeah, I'm fine, Orihime."

Her lips protruded into a pout and she leaned back folding her arms under her chest, making the cleavage that became exaggerated by it so much harder to ignore.

"Uh uh, not this time," She said as seriously and as firmly as she could. He had to fight every muscle in his body from continuing where they'd left off not 15 minutes ago. She looked painfully innocent and sexy at the same time. "I'm not letting it go this time, what's wrong?"

"I-I was just thinking about what's been going on." He admitted…partially, then averted his eyes.

"You mean you're worrying."

Ichigo looked back up at her, she always knew, didn't she?

"Yeah, I guess." He responded. "I just…I don't want you coming with us, this time. I don't want to put you in harm's way."

"Ichigo," She said, leaning forward, her hand came to grace his chin as she turned his face to meet hers. "I want to help, Anna, and I'm sure that Urahara-san can come up with an alternative. I don't think Anna would ask it of me to reject time around the seal, anyway."

"She was more than willing to force you to!" Ichigo snapped. Orihime huffed back at him, releasing his chin to wag a finger in his face.

"No one else may have noticed, but I did," She said seriously. "Her heart is broken and blind. She's hurting, and I don't think she wants anyone else to feel what she does. She could have just lied to us, and she didn't. Anna's a good person, she just didn't know what to do."

Orihime stopped her scolding, brought the same hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Actually, you two are a little bit alike. I can see her gallantly charging ahead to defeat the bad guy."

Ichigo reached out, unable to contain himself any longer and pulled her over top of him. She made a surprised sound, flailing just a little before coming to rest on him, her face burning red as she looked down at him. He stared back in her soft, empathetic grey eyes.

"If you trust her, I will, too." He said a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you," She replied to his acceptance of her judgment. She leaned down, feeling nervous, to kiss him chastely on the lips.

Ichigo found it far too hard to continue restraining himself at this point. He was a creature of action, not discussion, and he intended to remain as such.

He deepened their chaste kiss, his tongue slipping past her lips and teeth to explore. A thrill washed over him as she accepted the sudden intensity in which he came after her. One hand ran it's fingers through her damp red hair, coming to rest at the back of her head. The other hand left it's position on her back, and trailed down to her hips, where it squeezed her gently. Orihime released a soft and muffled moan.

Something inside Ichigo felt like it snapped.

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The world inverted itself more suddenly than Orihime had time to react to. One minute, she had been lying loosely on top of Ichigo, and the next she was on her back on the carpet, their kiss broken. Being in her thin night gown was bad enough, but their shuffling of positions had hiked her garment up to her hips. She wasn't sure if Ichigo noticed or not, but she definitely felt it happen as he came to settle atop her, between her legs. She felt herself blush again at how inappropriate the two of them looked.

The sound of her heart in her ears made her believe that it could be loud enough for him to hear. She stared up at him, the intensity of his eyes pulling her in. He shifted his body so he could support himself on one hand and one leg, his knee sliding up against her groin. She didn't think it was possible for her heart to beat any faster, but it did.

Now properly balanced above her, he reached out a strong, chiseled hand and started plucking open the buttons that held her night gown shut. She remembered when she had bought it that she couldn't figure out why it had to be buttoned up starting at her empire waistline, now it made sense. Ichigo sunk back down to her once the fourth and final button was off, and her cleavage was completely revealed.

Yet this time he did not kiss her on the lips, instead his lips found her neck just below her ear. It tickled a little and sent chills through her body as his lips gently traced the muscles in her neck. Her arms circled around him, fingers through his hair with one hand, the around his shoulder. He moved down slowly, and Orihime felt like her skin had caught fire. When he reached the point where her shoulders connected to her neck, he opened his mouth over it, and bit down. It wasn't hard enough to break skin, or leave a mark of any kind for that matter, but it was enough to send a mixture of chills and a little pain through her body. Her eyes slid closed.

Her fingers immediately tightened their grip on his hair as he bit her, and a moan escaped her throat. Ichigo's hand slid up to free her breasts completely from the unbuttoned nightgown. A slight tug was all it really took. The same hand now slid across her chest, his rough and calloused palm grazing her nipple, making it stiffen. Orihime gasped, both in surprise and pleasure at the new sensation.

Ichigo made a low growl in his throat, and this time his hand covered her breast completely, lightly kneading it, his forefinger and middle finger trapping her nipple between them. At the same time, he bit down a little harder on her neck, and began to run his tongue over her skin. This elicited a louder, lustier moan from her, her hips arching up to rub against his.

There was this pool of heat and pulsing gathering in her center. She'd never felt anything like this before, it was making it hard to think. When she had arched her hips up, she had felt something hard and unyielding against her pelvis, and when she realized what it was, a wave of thrill shot through her.

Ichigo released her neck and shifted his body down where his hand lifted from her breast, and his mouth covered it instead. It was at the same time, the most exhilarating and embarrassing thing Orihime had ever seen.

Ichigo's now free hand slid up her smooth thigh, his thumb hooking under her panties. She arched her hips, knowing his intention, and let him slide them off of her, down her legs, around her feet, and off somewhere in the apartment. Shaking slightly, Orihime allowed her hands to curl into his hair again. She watched his mouth working at her breast for a moment, another light groan escaping her lips. She saw Ichigo smile with his mouth still at her breast.

A slim, warm finger stroked her lips, just barely grazing her swollen clit. Her breath hitched in her chest as the sudden shock of pleasure. Pressing just a little harder, Ichigo's fingers continued to caress the throbbing nub, spurred on more and more by her moaning.

Her body burned, the area between her legs was on fire, her insides begging for relief. Her hips rocked against his hand, and finally, a slim digit slid into her. There was slight discomfort, and then it was gone, replaced by intense pleasure as Ichigo moved his finger against the front wall of her insides.

She released his hair at that moment, not wanting to rip any of his hair out. Her hands found a couple pillows and she gripped them.

"Oh, God…." She breathed harshly.

Ichigo withdrew his single finger, and Orihime felt disappointment as it left her. But it wasn't long until two fingers now slid into her. The discomfort this time was worse, but it was short replaced with that same pleasurable feeling again. She moaned louder this time, her hips gently rocking in the rhythm that he'd set. She felt something inside of her building, with every stroke of his fingers it rose until she felt like she would break.

His fingers slid from her again, and she felt his weight leave her. Her eyes popped open (when did she close them?) and she looked up at him.

Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle at her, her expression was so easy to read "why did you stop?" it said. He made quick work of unbuttoning his pants, and tugging his boxers down, keeping his eyes on her, wanting her reaction. He wasn't disappointed, her eyes widened when she saw how much he really wanted her, and she averted her eyes quickly.

_Just when I didn't think you could be any brighter a shade of red, you prove me wrong…_He thought to himself.

She knew exactly what was about to happen, but her body ached for him to be inside of her so badly she didn't care. She looked back up at him as she felt his weight come against her. He was no longer smiling, and his expression was fiercely intense. He paused above her, as if waiting for her to say okay. She arced her hips up again.

"Please…" she moaned.

There was pressure as he entered her, and then that same discomfort as earlier. He moved slowly, and she felt something tear. She winced in pain and Ichigo slid into her halfway and stopped moving completely. He looked a little worried, he had tried very hard not to let this be painful.

Once the pain subsided after a brief moment, Orihime arched her hips again, reaching up to tug him down onto a fervent kiss.

With the first long, and slow stroke he filled her with, he moaned into her mouth. He continued with the slow easy motion for a while, which drove Orihime mad.

Something was building inside her as his thrusts increased in both intensity and frequency, her hips rose to meet him with every inward motion he made. Her hands clutched at him, her fingernails digging into his back, only serving to spur him on more. Her moans came in hitching exhales into his mouth as they continued to kiss.

It was almost more than she could bear. She felt something coming to a breaking point. It was so close, almost tangible to her now. Her hips rocked, her muscles tightened.

Finally, a she felt what had been building in her center snap. Her breath caught in her chest, and then there was a sweeping feeling of release. Her voice rang out Ichigo's name, her hips rocking, body shuddering. She drew in ragged breaths, calling out again as her insides flexed around him. His thrusts became more uneven, and he gave one last hard stroke into her. He shook, a strangled moan escaping him. She felt her insides fill with heat.

The kiss broke as he lay on her, still inside of her, nuzzling his face into her neck, decorating it with gentle kisses.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear between kisses.

Orihime felt the happiest she had ever been.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Anlanah unlocked her apartment door, slipping into the darkened home with Ryuuken right behind her. She removed her shoes and walked barefoot towards her bedroom. She heard the door close, but didn't bother to look at him. She had never told him about her grief. Hell, they'd never talked about it after it had happened. She had thought that they were both content to let the subject lie. There were other things that she would need to tell him now. Things she would rather leave unsaid, but would regret later if either of them failed to escape the situation they were in alive.

"Anna, where are you going?" Ryuuken demanded.

Without looking at him she replied: "To take a bath and change clothes. I haven't bathed since being injured, I've still got some blood on me, I can smell it even with these pathetic human nostrils. Just make yourself at home, Ryuuken."

She shut the door behind her, turned on the faucet in the bathtub and stripped. Her body was sore, but all traces of her wounds were gone. She inspected her naked form in the mirror. She hadn't been here long enough for the sickness to set in, but she figured being in human form for a few days would probably prevent it from coming on during her venture here.

The true reason her people had fled to a different universe was because of what human technology did to their bodies. As the ages progressed, and science became better and better, their kind became more and more ill. Eventually, they couldn't breed any longer, and facing extinction, they fled. The rapid industrialization of the world was the cause. The Sidhe were particularly susceptible towards it. Her grandfather, the former clan Head, had dubbed it Technositis as a joke. Very funny joke, it was always fatal, and slow to kill, and it was not gentle with the body. She'd been here a short time, and it usually took several months to set in, so she wasn't concerned. She'd either be dead, or back home by then.

Anna climbed into the bath, the hot water stinging her skin, easing the ache out of her muscles.

How would she explain to Ryuuken? He probably thought she held bitterness towards him. Even though he'd never show it, he probably felt guilty.

When she was done washing, she dried herself and then dressed. She threw on a simple, black, long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of jeans that hugged her wry body. She gathered some clothes and shoved them into a duffle bag, taking care to bring her cloak and clothes from her own world. When she exited the bedroom, she walked to the door and set the bag down. Ryuuken was reading something on his cellphone, most likely going through his e-mail. She stood over him, not bothering to sit across from him.

He closed his phone and looked up at her from where he sat, posture perfect.

"What would you like to discuss, though I'm sure I can guess." Anna asked. He stood, looking her in the eyes, only a few inches taller than she.

"Anna, how did you know I had been married?" He asked shrewdly. By that, Anlanah was actually taken aback. Her lips parted in surprise, and she downcast her eyes.

"I just deduced it. I saw Uryuu before I saw you, the resemblance is uncanny enough," She responded.

"Anna, don't lie to me, please." He said flatly. Anna sighed. Her bloody human form made it impossible for her to conceal her emotions.

"Six years after I left for home, I came back to check up on you." She paused. "I suppose I had forgotten how long six years actually is for you. I had wanted to surprise you with my return, have a conversation with you that I'd never been able to have. When I arrived, I followed your reiatsu to your residence. I saw you, an infant, and a beautiful woman who couldn't be anything other than your wife. I'd never seen you so happy. So, I left."

"Ryuuken," Anna began. "Did you love her? Your wife I mean."

"Yes, very much so."

"Good, I'm glad. It makes me feel better about letting you go."

"I couldn't wait for you, Anna."

"I know that," She scoffed. "I'm a lot of things, Ryuu, a fool isn't one of them."

Silence stretched between them, Ryuuken was the first to break it.

"About what happened-"

"I don't blame you. I forgave you a long time ago, you know that."

"I don't regret saving your life." He said sternly. "I would do it again if it came to it. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to help you."

"I'm surprised at you, I didn't expect to ever have such a candid conversation."

"Why didn't you ever tell me how much pain you were in?"

Anna stiffened at that question, unsure of how to answer.

"I have never been one to grieve openly. And I had wanted very badly to leave it in the past."

She let a gentle smile color her features. Was that her sorry attempt at an apology? She became serious again. For so long she had wanted to have this conversation. But that didn't mean that it was easy.

"Ryuuken, I'm sorry for saying what I did, then." Her breath hitched. "It was cruel."

"It was, but I've never held it against you." He smiled. "You've never minced words, I've always liked that about you."

"I-I think I still love you," She said hesitantly. His hand came to rest on her neck, his thumb rubbing her cheek.

"Anna-"he cut himself off. "I loved my wife….but that doesn't mean that you never had your place in my heart."

"What will you do about it, then?"

A smile crossed his face. Anna's head tilted to the side in suspicion, her eyes narrowing, she knew that look.

"Nothing, right now," He said smirking. "What with your form being as weak as it is at the present moment, I'd fear breaking you."

Anna's eye twitched, but he was probably right. When a Sidhe transformed from Arsenic poisoning, it wasn't just the lack of power and durability that came with it. Their bones became brittle and their skin easy to tear and puncture. With a small amount of force, he could accidentally break her neck.

"I intend to stay here until I am no longer human, then I will return to Urahara Kisuke's home. I will want to start teaching all of them, as quickly as possible, as to how our bodies work. That and part of me gets the vibe from Urahara-san that he would love to study me while I change back." She shivered.

"Very well, I will be on my way, then." He replied stiffly.

"Wait-"Anna gripped his wrist before he could turn away. "Stay here. I have an extra futon. You wouldn't leave me here defenseless would you?"

Ryuuken seemed to understand that it was not a matter of being unable to defend herself, it was more of an insecurity for her. She felt weak, she wanted personal comfort.

"Very well," He sighed. "But once you are Fae again, we will need to see Kisuke again."

"Thank you, Ryuuken."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**So, you guys finally got your lemons! **

**I don't know if anyone else keeps up with the Manga: but holy shit was the last chapter a fangirl freakout!**

**SPOILER ALERT!**

**So, Kukaku said that "Uncle would be sad." If Ichigo came to harm. So, here's my theory. Isshin must have been related to the Shiba Clan in some way, so Ichigo looks so much like Kaien because Kaien is his Uncle! Masaki Kurosaki was actually Masaki Ishida, meaning that Ichigo and Uryuu are cousins. **

**Also, totally excited to see parts of Grimmjow too! My husband always said that Grimmjow is a character that could easily flop to the Shinigami side. Also, seeing the dead Fullbringers was pretty sweet, too. I'm finally eager to read Bleach every week again! I really hope they bring the anime back once the Manga story line is finished. **

**Once again, thanks for reading and feel free to review!**

**-Third. **


	6. Update

**So I wanted to take a few moments to let everyone know that I'm working on the next chapter currently. I'm only about 3,000 words into it, and I'm having a little bit of a hard time with the part that I'm currently writing. This next chapter is going to pose more questions than answers, just rest assured I won't forget about them! They'll btree levant later!**

**I may end up doing a double update on Saturday, it depends how I feel about my rough draft. **

**I might write something fun and post it tonight, but don't get your hopes up! 'Cos I might just decide to put it in the actual story!**

**-Third**


	7. Chapter 6

**Not really any new terms! I'll be explaining the axis portal in later chapters.**

**Chapter 6**

**Two Days Later**

Pain, searing, aching, and excruciating pain. Anna's legs kicked violently as she shook on her bed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could feel Ryuuken holding her down. She couldn't even render a scream, just halting gasps as her lungs clawed for air. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes open wide and unseeing as her mouth worked at articulating choked curses.

Once the wave subsided and she knew where she was again, her breathing slowed, her eyes coming back into focus.

"….na….Anna…."She heard Ryuuken calling to her softly. It was still dark. Probably about 3 am in the morning. Anna felt Ryuuken's warm hands on her pulse at her wrist. "Anna….please…answer me."

She rolled her head to look at him.

"How long?" She asked breathlessly.

"I don't-"

"How long…was….I seizing?"

"Only for about three minutes. What the hell is going on?" His face was etched with worry. She wondered what had woken him to come to her side. She'd forgotten to tell him about this part.

"I'm reverting…I'm becoming Fae again…." She inhaled, shuddering. "This is just the start. It'll get worse." She paused, her head rolling to meet his eyes. A faint, but mischievous smile crossed her features. "Aren't you glad I convinced you to stay?"

"A warning earlier would have been nice." He hissed. "Your pulse was at 180, and if I could guess just by touching your vein in your arm when you still let me, your blood pressure was 190/130. Do you have any idea what that means?"

Anna shrugged, she didn't, but she was sure Ryuuken would explain it to her. Oh yes, in a severely annoyed tone, too.

"It means you almost had a heart attack," He took a hot towel from a bowl that lay beside him and put it on her forehead. "Next time you might hemorrhage. Please, do me a service and try not to die."

"Hai, hai, Sensei." Anna droned.

"How long before the next one?"

"I don't know, it's like labor, only I don't get any warning beforehand. It jus-"Anna's eyes rolled back inside her head and her body began to shake again. She thrashed, unable to think. Every nerve felt like it had been fried. She vaguely felt her body roll onto its side, and a firm grip encase her frail arms. The contact made her throat make a sound she'd never heard come out of her before. She opened her eyes, her vision focusing and then blurring again. She saw Ryuuken's strained face, he was saying something. Anna couldn't even begin to comprehend anything at the moment.

When it finally subsided again, Ryuuken was laying over her to hold her down. She tapped him weakly.

"I'm okay…"

"You are far from 'okay'," He responded curtly. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Absolutely not." Anna hissed. "I will be fine. This has happened before, and it's very rare that death is a result of changing back."

"You can't be serious."

"As the grave, Ryuuken. Just….just get me some water."

Ryuuken stood stiffly, obviously unhappy.

_Let him be angry_, Anna thought.

He returned a moment later, handing her the glass of water. She downed it rapidly. A warm hand slid around her wrist to check her pulse rate again. Then slid up her arm to press down lightly on her vein at the crux of her arm.

"BP 130/90, high but much better, and your pulse is down to 100."

"What's the norm?" She asked.

"For blood pressure? 120/80 and a normal pulse rate is 80 resting." He dabbed more sweat off of her face with the hot cloth.

"Looks like I'll survive this after a-"

This time a scream ripped through Anna's throat as the intensity shot up several notches. She clawed at Ryuuken as he held her body down while it thrashed. A seizure, yet not a seizure. She was conscious and aware, and the pain seared every inch of her like she was being burned alive.

And there were still hours of this to go.

**Ten Hours Later….**

Anna's vision came back slowly, her body still twitching from the last wave. Her body and bed were drenched in her sweat. She was fighting to stay awake.

"Ryuuken…." She called hoarsely. "Water, I need water…."

A cold glass touched her hand and she sat up and drank it.

"How long was that one?" She asked, afraid to know the answer.

"An hour and a half." He responded, his voice tired. She turned to him and gave a weak smile. He looked haggard, exhausted, hell almost as bad as she probably looked. Anna handed the glass back to him, her hands barely able to grip it.

"What's our record?"

"Your heart should have exploded in your chest at least three times by now, I've lost count."

A thunderbolt hit her then. A scream of agony ripped from her and she collapsed against the bed. Her mind froze completely, any thought was a complete impossibility.

Ryuuken's panicked face began to fade his mouth moving, shouting at her. She didn't hear it.

Then blackness.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Anna stood on the lawn of a vast, elegant home. At first, she felt disoriented looking at the expanse of what could only be described as a manor. Nervousness filled her belly, twisting it into knots. She had never been to the main house before where the elders, and the Clan Head sat. She wondered again, probably for the millionth time, if she was ready for this kind of responsibility.

Clan Head was an immense title to take on, and Anna had refused her claim to it when she had come of age. Her grandfather, at the time, was still as sharp and as strong as ever as Head of the Sidhe, and filling his shoes was something she simply did not want.

She smiled to herself sadly, remembering how furious he had been when she had refused. He had tried forcefully to convince her only to have her rebuke him, saying that he was still fully capable in his position. At the moment he relented, he told her his true intention.

He had wanted to retire early.

Anna was livid, she stormed out of the great hall spitting a flurry of profanities at him over her shoulder.

They hadn't spoken since.

And now, he was dead.

Adam had claimed that he'd found his beloved grandfather in his chambers, no longer breathing. And, he claimed, despite his best efforts, he could not revive him. Anna remembered, three years prior to his demise, imploring her grandfather in a letter to reconsider making Adam captain of his vanguard. She had received a rather snarky reply that had only served to infuriate her.

_I seem to recall your disinterest in any affairs like this three years ago, Anna. If you feel that my judgment is unsound, perhaps it's time you accepted your place as Head of our House. _

She had thought about writing another, choicely worded letter to Meriadoc Sidhe, but she knew it wouldn't have done her any service. Her father had always joked that her stubbornness and sass came from her grandfather, and much to her personal displeasure, she agreed. Knowing that she also knew that he would never recant his decision without direct evidence that Adam was a loose cannon. She wasn't going to be able to explain why she felt so uncomfortable with his appointment to her grandfather, either.

When Adam had found out five years ago that Anna was to be offered the position as Clan Head, he'd practically flown off the handle. He'd shoved her against the stone wall outside of her house, his hand gripping her right arm so fiercely he'd bruised her.

"Why you?" He had hissed, always the short tempered one. "I'm older, I'm stronger, so why _you_?"

She could see the envy, the disgust, and the yearning to be recognized in his eyes. Since they were children; since they had sprouted their wings when they'd come of the right age, Anna had been fawned over. For her wings were the mark of the next in line to ascend to Clan Head. Pure white, and larger than any in the family before her, the Sidhe believed that it would be she who would take her grandfather's place. She tried to comfort her twin when they were small. She told him how she didn't want the responsibility that came with the title, and all that _paperwork_. She loved him more than anything else in the world, they had always been together, and they had always shared that bond that twins had. Anna would have cut off her left arm to make him happy.

After years of complaining to him, in attempt to ease his feelings of rejection, he finally snapped on her. Anlanah was taken completely by surprise, he always told her what was bothering him. Even with his short temper they always worked through it. Together.

She remembered the fury in his eyes that day, the jealousy. Though they were only 11, he'd punched her in the solar plexus, knocking the wind from her lungs and forcing her to her knees. He kicked her, viciously and repeatedly, and worst of all, silently.

He didn't utter a single sound, nor give her a reason for why he was suddenly hurting her. Anna gasped and rolled onto her side, curling into the fetal position to protect her vital organs. She wept openly, both in physical pain and emotional. She begged him to stop, and asked him why. Why was he hurting her? What did she do wrong? Why was he so angry?

Abruptly as it began, he stopped and sank to his knees over her, wrapping his arms around her gently. He was shaking all over, and crying with her.

"I'm sorry, Anna," He gasped between the sudden sobs. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Anna unfolded her bruised body and, still weeping, dove into her beloved twin's arms. He held her, comforting her, apologizing to her.

"I love you, little sister," He whispered hoarsely. "I'll never hurt you again. I'm so, so sorry, I'll never hurt you again."

But every now and again, he would. His temper was unpredictable, and Anna never knew what would set him off. One moment, he would be jovially laughing with her, they would be teasing each other, and the next moment he would be whipping her with his belt at something she'd said. His eyes would light afire first, then go completely dead of emotion while beating her. And every time, after a few minutes, long enough to do a fair amount of bodily damage, he would come back to himself, a lost and sorrowful look on his face.

Like the day he found out that their grandfather intended to name her Clan Head. His eyes flashed with anger, then resentment. She knew then that she was on eggshells. He wasn't going to hurt her, not yet anyway.

"I won't accept it, you know that," She said quickly, trying to pacify him. "And then he'll select you in his will, I know he will. You're the only other person he'd choose."

Anna watched his eyes go dead, her heart felt like it stopped. He grinned at her without humor, his handsome face contorting into an animalistic countenance. Anlanah would have run if she could move, she thought she knew what was coming, but none of her previous experiences with her twin's temper prepared her for what he did next.

Instead of simply hitting her until his rage died, his free hand (the other still crushed her arm) wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air.

Anna's own free hand gripped his wrist, trying to pull it away, but the lack of oxygen was making her too weak, too fast.

"Adam, please," She choked, barely a whisper coming out. "You're hurting me…." He ignored her.

"If I kill you, then I'll always be first choice," He mused. "Just like I should be." Her vision began to darken, her hand only able to weakly tap on his wrist.

"Adam…..please…..let go…"She rasped, her knees gave out, his grip suddenly loosened and she gasped. Her lungs burned as they filled with air. She was on her hands and knees, coughing. As her vision came back, she looked up, finding Adam grappled on the ground by her husband. Gabriel had taken him by surprise, and now had him in a figure four hold.

"Stop this insanity, Adam, now is not the time to quarrel." Gabriel hissed. Adam stopped his struggling realizing the futility of it. Gabe released him, both men slowly standing, ready to attack the other if either made a move.

Adam turned his gaze to Anna and glared down at her; it sent chills down her spine and bile up her throat. Something inside him had changed, something inside him had broken. Something black that had been held at bay for 300 years had finally gotten loose.

"Why are you even here, LaRell?" He asked Gabriel, his eyes never wavering from Anna.

"A message came to me from your father," Said Gabe, as he moved swiftly to Anna's side. "He wants you in his Hall immediately."

Adam turned, cursing, and stalked off. Gabriel knelt beside Anna gently pulling her into his lap.

"My, you're still shaking." He said with concern. "Will you be okay, Anna?"

She couldn't respond. Adam had been intent on ending her life. It wasn't just a thing he was only considering, he was going to do it. Her beloved brother was trying to kill her.

"Anna…." Came Gabriel's voice in a disjointed echo.

She blinked, bringing herself back to the present.

"Anna," Gabriel called softly. "You alright?"

"Yes, yes, just an old memory that decided to take me on a short vacation." She replied, turning to him to offer a smile.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Yes, a little. It's not every day that you have to become the Head of your Clan because your brother is too blood thirsty for the job." Responded Anna. Gabriel's sky blue eyes smiled at her, even while his mouth remained mostly a flat line. His corn silk colored hair was tousled, his clothes slightly messy from their long day's travel. He looked carelessly handsome. Her heart filled at the sight, and her nerves eased. Nothing could touch her when they were together. As long as they were together, there wasn't anything she wasn't capable of. He reached out a hand to slide it around the side of her neck, his fingers sifting through her thick brown locks. One of his rare, dazzling smiles graced his features.

"No matter what happens," He said softly, drawing his face close to hers, touching foreheads. "Always remember how much I love you."

Anna's hands slid up to cup his face.

"I love you more, you big sap." She laughed lightly. They separated from their intimate proximity and Gabe took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Let's go."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Her vision was blurred, her breathing ragged. Anna's body ached and stung all over. She tried hard to focus….heat….there was heat everywhere, and smoke.

The home she shared with Gabriel was on fire.

The events came back to her in a rush.

Adam had gone mad at her first Clan Gathering and Anna had sealed him herself. She had kept him on as Captain of the Vanguard after her initial appointment, a month had passed since. But when she'd proclaimed to the elders that the human world would be closed off to them all permanently, he'd gone berserk. He raged about how all races should bow to the power of the Fae. It took two of her retainers, Tajin and Malcolm, her husband, and her father to subdue him long enough for her to seal him until he could be properly dealt with.

But, less than a week later, he'd broken out.

They had been in the middle of packing for their move to the main house. Adam must have gone after their father first.

Nathaniel Sidhe used a very dangerous, very powerful spell to warn her that Adam was coming. It was a mirror commune. Anna had just happened to be moving the vanity mirror when he'd made the connect with the spell. He told her to run, and judging by the blank looks in his eyes, his body was already dead, his soul just hadn't caught up yet.

"I love you, my little one." He'd uttered as his image in the mirror shattered in her hands.

No time for tears, Anna had shouted to her children and opened a portal to the axis world. She shoved both of them into it. Serene had looked up in surprise from her place at the back of the establishment on the other side of the portal. Anna shouted at her to seal all ports and sealed the portal from her own side.

Then _he_ came, and Gabriel…

_Gabriel,_ she thought, choking on smoke. _Where are you?_

She spied her husband's still form across the room and began to drag herself to him. She lifted his broken body into her arms, his skin in tatters from Adam's cruel torture.

_How do I get us out?_ She thought frantically as her home burned around them.

She felt a tearing in the universal fabric as Serene opened a gateway from the axis. Relief and anger washed over her simultaneously as Serene Undine stepped from the portal. The woman that belonged in no world, yet any world, reached down and scooped Anna up.

"Wait…."Anna coughed, hardly able to breathe from the smoke. "Gabriel…."

"He's already dead, Anna." Replied the water elemental sadly. Anna fought her weakly, trying to free herself from her friend's grasp.

"No!" She pulled trying to make Serene turn around. "No! I can feel him! He's alive!"

But Serene had already set foot into the nexus, and Anna screamed curses at her as the portal shut behind them. Her heart wrenching at the sight of her spouse's body alighting in flame. It was the last thing she remembered before blood loss and grief stole the world away and darkness took her.

Anlanah's eyes popped open, the ceiling of her apartment in Kurakura Town, and darkness greeting her. Tears wet her face and her pillow, she rubbed them away in haste. She rolled to her side only to find Ryuuken's sleeping form next to her.

_He must not have had enough energy to make it to his own bed after restraining me all day,_ she thought amusedly. _Sorry, Ryuu, you were probably worried sick over me._

She rolled out of her bed and padded her way to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and flipped on the light. Starting the faucet, she collected icy water in her hands and splashing her face.

She wondered how long she had been unconscious for. Strange that she had actually dreamt, and of something from so many years ago. She peered at herself in the mirror. Her sharp vision was back, her skin had taken back its lively luster again. But her eyes still appeared hollow to her. Perhaps it was the dream.

"Another old ghost," She said to her reflection, cynically. "Even in my dreams he haunts me…"

She left the bathroom, taking care to turn off the light before opening the door, and climbed back into bed next to a fully clothed Ryuuken.

_One day of rest and readjustment,_ she thought. _Then we must prepare._

()()()()()()()()()()()

"Anna…."

Someone was calling her.

"Anna…."

_Gabriel?_

"Anlanah!"

_No, that's Ryuuken._

"Hmm? What?"

"You've been asleep for ten hours."

Anna's eyes popped open and she shot up in bed.

"WHAT?" She looked at the clock. It was only 12pm. She sighed. "Jesus Christ, Ryuuken, don't scare me like that, I thought you meant since the last time I woke up."

"You were awake earlier?" He asked, sitting up in bed himself. She looked at him and laughed. His shirt was twisted around his waist and had come untucked during the night. His hair was sticking out in random directions. He looked ridiculous.

"Oh, shut up." He hissed with a hint of a smile on his face as he hit her with a pillow. She hadn't seen him act playful like that since they had first met. She could only guess that the relief he felt must have made him a little giddy. Anna rolled out of bed, pulling her night clothes off of her body until she wore nothing. She smiled slightly as she felt Ryuuken's eyes on her. She strolled to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Forget a bath, she needed a shower. She turned on the shower function in her bathroom and plucked the showerhead from the wall, sitting down on the stool and running the water over her body. She let a sigh loose as the water rinsed the sweat on her body off. Soap, lots and lots of soap covered her as she scrubbed her skin.

After she was done, she exited a towel wrapped around her. Ryuuken was no longer in the bedroom, instead, he was in her kitchen making a pot of coffee for himself. She poked her head around the corner of the door frame.

"Your turn." She called.

He left the coffee pot brewing and walked into the bedroom. Still in her towel she was throwing her dirty night clothes in the wash and started working on the bedding as well. Her keen nose could smell the sweat from the previous day. It smelled foul to her, like she had been detoxing. Well, she supposed to an extent she had been.

She heard the bathroom door close behind her. She shoved the dirty sheets and comforter in the washer and turned it on.

When she was done redressing the bed, Ryuuken was out of the shower. Her back was still turned to him, as she was smoothing out the comforter. She felt a tug on her towel.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that your lack of clothes is a hint to me…." Said Ryuuken, his fingers trailing up along her spine. "You're Fae again, right?"

A shiver rolled up her spine and her heart picked up it's pace. But, she did not turn to face him.

"Yes…"

He gave her towel a hard tug, effectively using it to turn her to face him, and remove it at the same time. The sight of his bare form made Anna's heart kick in her chest. His eyes were burning with an intensity she knew, and had only seen to this extent once before, so many years ago. A slender, but firm hand came to rest between her breasts on her sternum. Ryuuken gave her a strong push, sending her tumbling backwards onto her freshly made bed. She let out a yelp of surprise as she hit the soft surface. Before she knew it, they were skin on skin as he climbed on top of her, crushing his mouth against her's. He cradled her head, and she reached to throw her arms around his shoulders. His kisses were igniting, urgent, intense. He shifted, lips still locked with hers, as his hands slid down her sides, outlining her curves. Everywhere he touched her lit up with cracking electricity, the kind that sent a thrill through her.

He pulled away from their kiss, his body moving down her's, the skin on skin contact making her moan softly. His mouth moved to the place where her shoulder and her neck connected, opening to kiss her there. Her breathing became more rapid than before as she uttered a small sound of satisfaction. Ryuuken's mouth opened wider, his teeth suddenly latching onto her flesh with just enough force to sting. Anna cried out, as the sensation shot from her neck, down her spine, and lit her insides with fire.

Wasting not a moment, he released her neck and his mouth fell over her left breast. Anna's marvelously blue eyes shot open, her hands instantly gripping Ryuuken's wet hair as he bit and nibbled on her taught nipple. Her hips arched and rolled against his stomach. She felt warm, slender fingers brush her nether lips, stroking them gently. The sensation drove her wild.

"Goddammit….. Ryuuken…stop…..fucking…..with me." She gasped. He lifted from her breast, his hand skimming up her lips again, across her pelvic bone, up her stomach, and to her right breast, where his dexterous fingers rolled the hardened nub between his fingers.

"You're awfully demanding." He teased.

She burned between the apex of her thighs. She needed to be filled, and she wasn't in the mood for waiting.

Her hand was still tangled in his hair, she tugged on it a little, watching his eyes flicker and burn brighter.

"That was unfair."

"Seemed perfectly fair to me." She purred. He slid back up her body, his hard chest rolling against her over-sensitive nipples making her moan. He swallowed the sound with his own mouth, his tongue delving in to meet hers. She used the leverage she had on his hair to pull him closer, her hips arching again, this time her pelvis rolled against his erection. A groan from him filled her mouth, and he broke the kiss, uttering an expletive.

Ryuuken positioned himself over her, his hand guiding his large girth into her. Their voices joined in the same sound as he filled her. He moved inside her, cutting straight to a fast, rough pace.

Anna cried out as he hammered against a particular spot within her. She raked her fingernails down his back, leaving red trails all the way down to the small of his back. This only served to spur him on. He pulled away from her, stopping his movement all together as he shifted them. Rocking back on his knees, and still partially inside her, he grasped her hips and pulled her into him harshly. A smooth hand wrapped around her calf as he lifted one of her long, coltish legs and hung it over his shoulder.

He thrust deep into her, making Anna cry out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Her nails dug into his thighs, this time, drawing small droplets of blood.

The sensation that something was preparing to break in her began to build. Again and again he slammed into her, each thrust determining how loud a sound she made. Slick and wet sounds could be heard just below her cries. The sound mixed with the sensation of his withdraw, then his rough return, made it that much more erotic.

She grasped at him, gasping between screams, the muscles in her belly constricting as her hips rolled into his, her body trying to take as much of him into her as possible.

Finally, she felt her muscles clench down as a wave over took her. Her toes curled back, her legs tensing as her insides clamped down around his throbbing girth. Her hips rocked as she came, husky cries emanating from deep inside her throat. Ryuuken's thrusts suddenly became uneven, and he cursed again. Wave after wave came, hard and fast, and once it subsided for her, he thrust into her one last time. She felt hot liquid fire fill her insides as he shuddered.

Ryuuken released her leg and leaned down to kiss her. He moved inside her slowly, smiling into her mouth as he felt her body tighten around him as he did. He pulled away just enough to speak.

"You up for round two?"

"Always." Anna laughed breathlessly.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The fact that Ichigo couldn't feel his arm anymore was what woke him. His eyes popped open and he turned his head to look at his numb appendage. Orihime lay next to him, the sheets of her bed had slid down to her waist during the night, leaving the rest of her torso bear. Her long fiery hair was splayed out like silk across the pillows. She clung tightly to his arm, her face nestled against it as she lay on her side.

It took him a second to realize that his arm was wedged quite firmly between her ample breasts, and that her grip in her sleep was like a constricted python.

She had trapped him to the bed quite effectively.

"Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal…" She mumbled in her sleep. He could only guess what she was dreaming about. Probably something completely random, like spaceships and old American westerns.

He gently, slowly slid her off his arm, his heart racing a little. He was glad he couldn't feel his arm, because he was sure that the sensation of her bare chest would have made it very, very hard not to wake her up. She rolled onto her back.

"I need new keys…" Came another mumble. He stifled a chuckle and pulled on his boxers, leaving her room as quietly as possible.

Running a hand through his hair, he took stock of Orihime's apartment. It was a mess. Books had been knocked off of her bookshelf, clothes were strewn about, and pillows littered the floor. The last couple of days had been a little bit of a blur. He started to pick up, and he noticed that Orihime had deliberately taken Sora's photo and turned the frame face down. He snorted in amusement and righted the frame, replacing her books on the shelf.

He still found this turn of events a little hard to grasp. His face grew hot as his mind wandered to their escapades over the last couple of days. He guessed this would technically make them an official couple now. Well, it wasn't that strange, they had confessed to each other, it had just moved a little faster than expected from there.

_Wait…_A realization hit him like a brick on his head.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ Ichigo felt like he was going to hyperventilate. How many times had they…..had they done _it_?

He couldn't remember, but it had been a lot.

And without any form of birth control that he was aware of….

_Oh, Kami-sama, why didn't I think of that until NOW?_

Were they really going to have to go to his father's clinic to pick up the morning after pill? No, no he couldn't handle that embarrassment, maybe just to a pharmacy? They were both of the legal age, but how much did it cost? Oh, his old man would definitely ask questions if he saw Ichigo go home to get money.

"…Ichigo?" Came Orihime's voice from her bedroom. He tried to calm himself as he watched her wander out of her room with nothing but a sheet wrapped around her.

"Wha's wrong?" She asked sleepily, rubbing an eye while the sheet sagged, the peak of an ample breast revealed by the falling fabric.

"Nothing…."Did his voice just crack? His voice just cracked. Orihime's head tilted to the side and she blinked a couple of times, her soft eyes becoming sharp and lucid.

"Ichigo…what is wrong?" She pronounced each syllable with emphasis. He sighed, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"I just realized something…."

"What?" Her brow furrowed, both in confusion and inquisition.

"We….we...uh…we didn't….use…a….uh….c-c-c-" If he'd had a gun, he'd have shot himself.

"A condom?"

Ichigo choked on his own spit, coughing hard. How could she say it so easily? And with that same inquisitive look on her face! Why was she so calm?

"Is that a problem?" She asked, eyes wide, head still tilted to the side.

"Yes, that's a problem! What if you…what if you're…..p-p-p-p"

"Pregnant?" She started giggling. Ichigo stared at her, his jaw slack. "You're so funny sometimes!"

"Eh?"

"I'm not going to get pregnant, silly. The doctor put me on birth control last year. She said it would make my…..ano…my periods more regular."

"Oh." _Very intelligent response, Ichigo._ But he couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over him.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked, concern knitting her brow.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine, I was…just worried a little for a minute there."

"You looked like you were going to pass out." She paused, shifting the sheet around her uncomfortably as she averted her gaze from him suddenly. "Do you not want children?"

Now _that_ had almost made him choke again. He restrained himself and actually had to think about that question for a second.

"No, no it's not that, just…not right _now_."

"Oh! Okay!" She beamed at him, effectively washing all of his embarrassment and anxiety away in one fell swoop. Now that his panic had subsided, he had time to focus on what her current attire was.

Or_ lack_ of attire to be more precise.

The white bed sheet was held up by one of her delicate hands over her breasts, parting just above her knees showing bare thighs and calves underneath. Her ginger colored hair was slightly tangled and cascaded over her shoulders in random, but still graceful curls, the shorter parts framing her face. The sheet itself covered just where she held it, either side looping down and around her, coming to a rest at the small of her back.

Ichigo felt a familiar quickening in his body. She was so beautiful, and still so innocent. He took a lot of personal pleasure watching her cheeks flare up in a rouge as his eyes obviously swept over her.

"I-Ichigo?"

"Hmmm?"

"W-why are you staring?"

He smiled, feeling hungry in familiar ways all over again.

"Maybe I'm thinking about eating you up."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**Okay, so I know I said I probably wasn't going to post tonight, but I decided that I wanted to finish this chapter so I could move onto the next. The next few chapters are going to be a lot of fun to write! I do have to admit that I have a little bit of a hard time with the fluffy stuff, in my defense, it's been a while since I got to experience the thrill of a new relationship. It'll explain itself more in time, but I just wanted to say one thing about Anna and Ryuuken. If they had to put this into a Facebook status. Their relationship status would be "It's complicated." They obviously still have feelings for each other, but sometimes love just isn't enough. Anyways, this week's chapter of Bleach was hi-lar-ious! **

**As usual, feel free to review! I read through all of the reviews and they really help me gauge how well I'm doing with this. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Third.**


	8. Chapter 7

**I'm so happy! I've peaked over 25 reviews! I could die!**

**Also, I am very, very, very, very, very sorry for posting late! This week was CRAZY. And next week is going to be worse for me. My birthday is on Saturday the 22****nd. ****I hate to say it, but I'm probably going to be too busy to post that day. We're looking at a delay in another update….probably two weeks from today if we're lucky. SORRY!**

**So I couldn't help but notice that no one seemed to catch the reference to another work of fiction in the last chapter. I'll write something just for you if you can guess it! **

**I wanted to thank all of you who have read, favorited, reviewed, and followed this story! If you like this, please review it! I like to know where I stand so I can make the story better. Also, if you have any requests for stories, let me know. I'm usually not the type to work on things simultaneously, though. So if you send a request for something to me, and I respond to it and tell you I'll do it, just be patient!**

**Terms:**

**Urusai: Shut up.**

**Yakuza: A Japanese Gangster**

**Ganbatte! Good luck!**

**9 Meters: 30ft**

**Okasan: Mom, Mother, ect.**

**Chapter 7**

**The Following Day**

One week and two days (maybe a little more if they were lucky) was all they had to prepare for the upcoming battle. Anna felt much better now, having returned to her natural state. Still, the challenge that faced them was nearly insurmountable. She could only hope that these children were fast learners.

Ryuuken walked beside her, having already called the hospital and set up arrangements with his staff for a "vacation" he was taking. He had insisted that he assist with educating the group, two heads were better than one, after all.

Anna had used Ryuuken's cell phone to call each person, Urahara first, of course. After explaining the breadth of what she needed, he'd made mention of an underground training facility they'd utilized before. They would split the group into two separate sections. Anna would take Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, and Urahara; and Ryuuken would train Uryuu, Sado, Renji, and Rangiku.

Urahara had been somewhat reluctant to agree to be included in training, but Anlanah had managed to impress upon him that there were things he needed to learn. That, and the real hook that got him to agree was that Anna had offered to allow him to take some of her blood as samples and go over some of her clan history and lore with him. She had not forgotten that he had been the one to mention he could assist them with resealing Adam. Anna had felt an immense well of reiatsu beneath the man's enigmatic exterior, even in her dull human form. She wanted him to help them, needed him to help even the odds a little.

"Something has been bothering me, lately, Anna." Said Ryuuken as they walked.

"Hmmm?"

"Adam is not one to make intelligent decisions, he's much more like a feral animal….so why did he attack Inoue Orihime instead of going straight for you?"

"I'm been wondering the same," Anna replied. "Do you remember Serene?"

"Yes, how could I forget her?"

"Given her position, she is my information broker for all that goes on between worlds. When Adam burned the main house down and slaughtered the rest of our family, it was Serene I went to for a way to stop him. She told me about Orihime, which led me here.

She would never betray me. Serene and I have been bond sisters since we were children. She could no sooner slit her own throat. However, she is not the only information broker in our world. Recently, a man has been rivaling her. He is intelligent, he is cut throat, and he is a business man through and though."

"Who is he?" Asked Ryuuken, already knowing where this was going.

"That's the thing, he's a fucking ghost," Anna hissed. "No one sees him, no one knows where he is, and no one works for him directly that I could find. He uses a ludicrous message system. Not only does he not go through any of the normal carriers, he uses bloody carrion birds, vultures and the like, to deliver and receive messages. Apparently, the messages are delivered to a cave somewhere on the southern end of the country, but from there, the paper trail just ends. There's no one in the cave, no one fetches the letter either, they just disappear. It's like a horror movie. Anyway, whoever he is, I think he's been feeding Adam information."

"It's more probable that he's helping Adam because they share the same goal." Ryuuken pointed out.

"But to what end? Adam is completely mad, Ryuuken, he wouldn't listen to intelligent plans, much less allow someone to help him. He'd be more like to stab whoever was helping him in the back for the sheer thrill of it.

If the worlds are merged the end result is pure chaos and destruction. It makes no sense with this information broker's level of intelligence."

"Maybe a personal vendetta?"

"Against me? Not probable. Why would someone destroy the fabric of the universe just to get at me?"

"That would be the real issue, wouldn't it?" Replied Ryuuken. "Have you obliterated any families or innocents in the last 22 years?"

"None that I can think of." She paused. "But, I've been in a lot of wars, Ryuuken. None recently, but it's not like I haven't killed in the past. I've decimated clans…for the exact reason I intend to seal Adam for."

"I've noticed that masterminds usually show their faces eventually," He replied thoughtfully." For the time being it's probably in our best interesting to deal with the problem at hand first."

"I hate to let it lie, but you're right." Anna sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to bite me in the ass later?"

"It probably will," He shifted his gaze to her, the corners of his mouth pulling up just slightly. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Shortly, they arrived at Urahara's shop. Outside sat two children, no older than 13. Once was a girl with dark hair, a lock of it running down the center of her face between her eyes, the rest framing her face to just below her shoulders. She sat reading a chemistry text book, her eyes a soft indigo hue. The boy was standing in the yard, swinging a broom around like a baseball bat. His hair was flaming red and slicked back. Anna through he looked like he intended to try out for a classic yakuza.

She felt curious, though. Why were children this young here? She didn't remember seeing them previously when she was here. What was more, for children, they had fairly decent reiatsu. The girl looked up at Anna for just an instant and said something so soft, Anna couldn't even read her lips. The boy stopped the swinging of his broom to look at Anna and Ryuuken, then shouted:

"OI! TESSAI! CUSTOMERS!"

Tessai strode out, a smile crossing his face.

"Ah, Anlanah-dono, Ryuuken-dono, come in, Urahara-san is waiting." Said the large man.

"What? You know this gaijin, Tessai-?" Started the boy before getting struck upside the head by the big man.

"Forgive Jinta's rude manners, he's not very bright." Said the girl, barely loud enough for Anna to hear.

"Die in a fire, Ururu!" Shouted the redheaded boy, only to be struck by Tessai again.

_Great, more crazy people,_ sighed Anna mentally.

"Come, Anlanah-dono, Ryuuken-dono," Tessai said as he motioned to the door of the shop.

As she moved forward, she saw a little black flash at the corner of her eye, down by her feet. She halted in her step, turning her gaze down to see a sleep beautiful black cat with large golden eyes.

Anna suddenly had the urge to pet it. Swooping down, she lifted the feline into her arm, holding the animal gently in one arm, it's feet curled up on her forearm. She began walking forward again, and the cat purred as Anna's free hand scratched the soft fur right behind its ears. A small smile played on Anna's features.

As she passed the entrance, the two young teens bowed, giggling a little.

_What was that all about?_ Anna wondered as she stepped into Urahara's store. She felt a little annoyed.

Following Ryuuken and Tessai to the sitting room, Anna's annoyance eased at the content sounds the black feline made in her arm. Tessai opened the screen door gesturing Anna and Ryuuken in. As she entered she saw that they were missing a few people. Rangiku, Urahara, Renji, and Rukia were the only people there. The rest, it appeared, had set to arrive.

Everyone's eyes focused on what Anna held in her arms. They all looked like their eyes would pop out of their heads. Her annoyance was suddenly back with vengeance.

"Yoruichi-san!" Cried Urahara, jumping up from his seated position to rush over to Anna, taking the cat from her. He swung the feline around, much to Anna's dismay.

_He obviously doesn't like that!_ She thought.

"U-Urahara-san…."Anna ventured, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I-I don't think he's enjoying that…."

The room exploded into laughter. Anna's face flamed red, suddenly embarrassed. So what if she liked cats? Was it really_ that_ strange? Anna began to fume a little, a vein popping out of her temple.

Then she realized that the cat was laughing, too. Did she just step into the Twilight Zone? Did she finally just snap? She turned to Ryuuken, his face unsmiling, but his eyes were bemused.

The laughter subsided and the cat requested to be set down. Urahara set the little animal on the floor, it immediately went back over to Anna.

"I'm Yoruichi, a friend of Kisuke's," It said in a deep male voice. "Douzo."

"LaRell Anlanah, d-douzo." She said, leaning down to scratch the cat behind the ear again, unable to help herself.

Yoruichi purred and rubbed up against Anna's hand. Once again the feline was in Anna's arms before she knew it, and Anna had taken her seat at the table, Yoruichi sitting contently in her lap.

"I like her, Kisuke," Yoruichi purred.

"Do you like cats, Anna?" Asked Rukia.

Anna felt like a child, she cursed herself mentally for breaking her badass image. Her cheeks reddened again.

"Y-yes."

Renji started in on hysteric gales of laughter.

"I thought you were supposed to be some badass Tengu?! How can a bird like cats? BAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Urusai." Came Anna's sharp voice, her eyes alight with thoughts of murder and torture. Renji's mouth snapped shut like a ventriloquist's doll as the temperature in the literally dropped. Anlanah's eyes were glowing slightly with a blue light.

"Sumimasen…" He said bowing quickly as sweat broke out on his forehead. Rangiku and Rukia giggled.

"Urahara-san," Said Anna coolly, her icy gaze shifting to Kisuke, the smile instantly disappearing from his face. "I believe we are still missing Uryuu, Sado, Ichigo and Orihime. Would you be so kind as to give them another call?" _Before I kill you…._was not required as an afterthought, but understood.

"H-hai, Anna-san." Urahara seemed glad to leave the room.

"Mouuu, Renji, you should know better," said Rangiku, rolling her liquid blue eyes. "Every woman likes cute things! It's in our nature! And Yoruichi-san is the pinnacle of cute, right now, ne?"

The cat lifted its head up in pride.

"I'd prefer beautiful and elegant as opposed to 'cute', but it's better than what that idiot Ichigo is always saying." The feline said indignantly.

Urahara poked his head into the room, slowly entering and clearing his throat to get their attention.

"It appears that our young friends are already here." He said with feigned cheerfulness, obviously still wary of Anna. He was putting as much distance between himself and her as possible.

No sooner had he spoken did the familiar voices of Uryuu, Orihime, and Ichigo come from the other end of the shop. Ichigo and Uryuu were arguing, and Orihime was trying to interject and change the subject.

"I keep telling you, it's none of your fucking business, Ishida!" Ichigo shouted. "Why are you so hooked up on me calling Orihime by her first name?!"

_Oh, well _that's_ interesting…_Thought Anna to herself, making a mental note of this information for later.

"You have no right to tell me what is or isn't my business, Kurosaki." Responded Uryuu coolly, then: "I will find out what's going on, you're a big enough imbecile that you'll let it slip eventually."

"What did you just call me?!" Hollered the redhead. "I swear to all that's holy, Ishida, we take this outside now and I'll kick your ass!"

"I-Ichigo…" Started Orihime.

"We're already outside, you idiot!" Came Uryuu's voice.

"Ishida-kun…"

"FINE! We'll throw down right here, take off your glasses, four-eyes."

"Is that really the best insult you can come up with, Kurosaki? Honestly, it's getting old, not to mention that it's extremely infantile."

"BOTH OF YOU, JUST STOP!" Shouted Orihime over their arguing.

Silence followed.

"Please, can we just go inside?" She continued timidly. "Everyone is waiting on us."

Moments later, Uryuu, Sado, Orihime, and Ichigo walked into the sitting room to be greeted by subdued smirks. Well, except for Rukia, who was trying to hide her laughter and failing very poorly at it.

Anna couldn't help but notice something different about both of the gingers as they walked in. They no longer had personal bubbles with each other it seemed. And Orihime seemed…different. Something interesting had happened between the pair of them, Anna could only hope it wouldn't interfere with their training.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Orihime. "Yoruichi-san, you're here, too!" Smiling Orihime happily reached down and pet the cat in Anna's lap, then took her seat next to her. Ichigo flopped down right next to Orihime.

"Don't get comfortable, yet." Anna told them. "Now that we're all here, I think we should go over mine and Ryuuken's plans for you lot in the training facility. She looked at Urahara, standing up with Yoruichi in one arm. "Lead the way."

"Anna, could you put me down?" Asked the cat, making Anna start. Anna apologized and set the feline down gently, ignoring Ryuuken's snort of amusement.

"You got a thing for cats or somethin'?" Asked Ichigo.

Anna's eyes flashed and she shot him a murderous look, if he could see auras her's would have been twisted and black.

"Is there a problem with that?" She asked, her voice like ice and her smile turning to poison.

"N-no, no ma'am…" Ichigo replied quickly, having a flashback of a similar smile from the captain of squad four.

"Good, let's go."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Anna clapped her hands together.

"Okay, so Ryuuken and I will be training you in separate teams for 4 days. Once we're done, you'll have one day to rest before we put what you've learned on a trial test where it will be Ryuuken and I as a team against all of you.

I wouldn't look so cocky yet, Ichigo, Renji, not until you've beat us in your one on one training.

For five hours every day, you'll be working in a collaborative effort to take down either myself, or Ryuuken. Then, for two hours at a time, you'll be going up against each other in groups of three while I or Ryuuken work with each of you individually during that time."

Anna assessed the clueless looks around her.

"You'll see more of what I mean once we start. Basically, every day will consist of 13 hours of training with breaks and good at your leader's discretion."

They groaned.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Whined Rangiku.

"Very well," Anna said in a defeated tone, everyone relaxed in response. "Eight hours against me or Ryuuken, and eight hours against each other sound better?"

"16 hours?!" Balked Ichigo.

"You'll still get eight hours of sleep." Offered Anna helpfully. "Well, maybe less if you want to bathe before bed." She placed her hands on her hips.

"So! I will take Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, and Urahara." She barked.

"And I will have the displeasure of working with Uryuu, Renji, Matsumoto, and Sado, no offense Sado." Said Ryuuken.

"None taken." Replied the giant.

"What about me?" Asked Yoruichi.

Anna blinked looking down at the little black cat.

"You can fight?"

"Of course I can fight, I'm not some flea bitten stray."

_What could a cat do to hurt me, really?_ Thought Anna.

"Very well, you'll be with me."

"Wonderful! I can't wait to test my skills against you in speed!" Replied the feline with a glint in its eyes.

"Yare, yare, Yoruichi-san," Piped up Urahara. "Maybe you should stop being so misleading first, so Anna-san knows what she just got herself into."

"Eh?" _What does he mean by that?_ Anna wondered suspiciously.

"Oh, I forgot…" Replied the cat.

A Large puff of steam exploded around the feline, and Anna took notice that all the men in the vicinity promptly about-faced, blushing.

Out of the cloud strode a tall bronze skinned woman with black hair and keen golden eyes, completely naked. Anna's jaw dropped.

"Y-y-y-you're not a cat?!" She exclaimed.

"Cats don't talk, silly." Replied Yoruichi. "Funny, I thought the fact that I'm a woman would have caught you off guard more."

Urahara tossed some clothes at her over his head, back still turned. The beautiful golden eyes woman started to pull some clothes on.

"I suppose I've seen stranger," Anna admitted, though not without a note of disappointment in her tone, that Yoruichi was not, in fact, a cat. Then she realized something. Now she would have five instead of four to train. She sighed. "I'll have to go back to our original plan of five hours of group work, we couldn't possibly keep a 17 hour schedule without actually killing one of you."

"Oh, thank _God_!" Praised Rangiku. "I need at least 8 hours of beauty sleep!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ichigo had been though intense training before, many times. But this…this was downright grueling.

After they had split into their separate groups, Anna had given them a brief rundown of her capabilities. The most interesting, Ichigo found, were her energy attacks.

"First thing I'm going to tell you is that, unlike kido, our magic doesn't always require the use of a name or incantation. That being said, since I will be going all out, you lot will have to learn when to anticipate when I'm going to use magic by reading how my reiatsu fluctuates." Said Anna informatively.

Rukia snorted.

"Good luck with that, Ichigo!" She laughed.

"Oh, can it, Rukia." He retorted.

Anna's eyes glinted, and an icy smile swept over her face.

"I hope none of you are particularly attached to the clothes you're wearing." She sneered.

"W-why do you say that, A-Anna?" Asked Orihime, fiddling nervously with her hands. Anna's grin only widened, making her look like a fox.

_Okay, that's just scary!_ Thought Ichigo.

He looked over at Orihime, thankful that he'd been able to convince her to dress practically. She wore a pair of capri gym pants and a plain pink T-shirt, her Shun-Shun Rikka were actually in her hair today.

Anna gathered her thick chestnut hair behind her head, tying it back tightly with a ribbon. She strode over to a timer than she had set down on a rock and set it for three hours.

"We'll take a short break after this goes off." She said, that chill inducing smile still on her face. "As soon as I start this, your only objective is to render me unconscious or make me say "I yield". Ganbatte!" The last word was laced with sarcasm.

Now, two hours into their first training session, Ichigo already felt fatigued. Rukia and Urahara were standing on either side of him, Orihime was behind them, ready to provide support, and Yoruichi was about 9 meters behind Anna. They were all struggling.

Anna stood perched atop a jagged formation of rocks, she had taken damage from their attacks, but her body regenerated so infuriatingly fast that it became a futile effort. Straight forward attacks were useless. They had to come up with a new plan of action. She hadn't even used any energy attacks, yet. Ichigo felt like she was playing with them.

It pissed him off. Especially since he had been pretty serious about this. He wanted very badly to wipe that mocking sneer off her face.

"Rukia, I need you to try to lure her over by that rock there…" Urahara was saying in a low voice. "And Ichigo, I need you to tie her down for…oh…at least 10 seconds if you can manage it. Orihime-chan, if you could be so kind as to ready Soten Kisshun around Anna for when I signal you."

"Losing your nerve, children?" Anna taunted.

They launched off simultaneously, Ichigo leapt up coming at Anna from the left. He had yet to use his Bankai, so it was Zangetsu's shikai form that he swung at her.

Anna's smug grin stayed on her face as she deftly flipped over Zangestu at the last moment, her delicate looking hand resting on the flat of his blade, her feet in the air, body perfectly centered in gravity. Before Ichigo knew it, her form rotated and her foot connected with his cheek. He felt his body fly backward as stars exploded in his vision. He attempted to regain his footing before he hit someone or something, but couldn't manage it. How hard had she kicked him?

He collided with a boulder, pain wrenched through his back as he bounced off of it. His sword swung forward and lodged into the ground below him to prevent himself from falling forward.

He cursed. She didn't even have her weapons out! Frustrated, he finally decided that using his shikai was a meager effort.

"BANKAI!" He righted himself after the wave of energy from his zanpakutou's release subsided.

"Oh, ho!" Jeered the blue eyed Fae. "Finally getting serious, eh?"

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia shouted, swinging Sode no Shirayuki. Anna vanished out of the way, moving from her original perch, and a few meters closer to Urahara's intended trap. Yoruichi took her own cue and came at Anna from her right. Anna's arm shot up, grabbing the bronze woman's ankle and, using her own momentum against her, side stepped and flung her into a boulder. Ichigo had launched himself into the air while she had been distracted. Now, he came at her from the air, Tensa Zangetsu held behind him as he charged up his reiatsu.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" A rift of pulsating black reiatsu ripped from his sword racing towards her. Anna looked up at him, her smile disappearing, her eyes widening just a little. He couldn't help but feel satisfaction at her alarm.

The wave hit her straight on, obliterating everything in its trail. It connected, he knew it had. Smoke and dust formed a cloud that he couldn't see through. He expected to see the Fae come shooting out at him from the cloud almost instantly. Or maybe fire off one of those energy attacks she hadn't used yet. But nothing came, there was no movement that he could tell.

"Ichigo! That was too much!" Scolded Rukia. "Anna-san! Daijobudesuka?"

No answer.

Ichigo suddenly felt very worried. It occurred to him now that maybe he might have let that attack off a little too viciously. He had been serious on that one. But with all her flaunting he figured that she would have been fine. The orange-haired substitute shot himself through the air and into the still swirling cloud of debris.

"Anna?" He called, looking around without much avail.

"You're really not very good at thinking things through, are you?" Came her voice from behind him, filled with that same sardonic tone as before.

He cursed mentally and started to round on her, Zangestu swung in an arc, but she was gone. Ichigo turned back and forth searching for any movement, any sign of her. There was none. This was different.

_So this must be what it feels like. _He thought to himself dryly. All those times he had created after-images of himself with his Bankai…

"Too easy!" She laughed, it was impossible to tell where it came from.

Ichigo felt the hilt of a sword come down at the back of his neck.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

When Ichigo woke, he was in Orihime's Soten Kisshun. He sat up, hitting his aching head on the dome. When did he get injured?

"I'm sorry!" The size of the orb expanded to accommodate him, as Orihime's concerned face came into view.

"_Sonofabitch!"_ Ichigo spat, his memory returning. He'd been unconscious for a whole hour. Orihime jumped at his expletive. He felt immensely disappointed in himself. Not only had he allowed Anna to make a fool out of him, he'd also lost.

"Sumimasen, Ichigo!" Orihime sputtered, looking as though she might cry. Her lower lip trembled as she swallowed back her tears.

"No…Orihime, I didn't mean y-" He began, his voice softening.

"Congenial as always, Kurosaki-kun." Came Anlanah's voice, laced with sarcasm and facetiousness. Ichigo's head snapped over in the direction of her voice.

The tall, blue-eyed woman was leaning over Rukia, healing her broken arm. Urahara was busy bandaging Orihime's arm, which appeared to have a nasty scrape from her elbow, to her shoulder. Yoruichi was sitting comfortably cross legged, seemingly uninjured atop a flat rock over by where Anna had set the timer. The bronze woman had a slightly crooked smile on her lips. Anna finished her work on Rukia and stood, hands placed on her hips.

"In case you're wondering, Ichigo," She began. "Your team lost while you were taking a little nap."

Ichigo clenched his fists. Just who did this she think she was? She had practically cheated!

"However, you were the only one to make me draw both swords today." She remarked thoughtfully. "Good job. Just stop rushing headlong into things so much and you might actually defeat me in our one-on-one later."

It was at that moment, that Orihime's stomach gurgled obnoxiously. Ichigo's attention turned back to her, and he watched with fascination as her face went crimson from the neck up like a thermometer.

"Right, then! Time to eat. We'll see if Ryuuken's group did any better than you lot did."

They didn't. Anna sighed in exasperation. She motioned for Kisuke and Orihime to help her mend the worse part of their injuries. Ryuuken was virtually unscathed. Anna shot him one of her icy glares as she saw the poor shape Renji was in.

"You really don't know how to pull your punches, do you, Ryuuken?" She hissed at him. Ryuuken met her gaze steadily, staring her down.

"Unlike you, I don't play with my prey."

Ichigo watched as electrical shock waves travelled between the two of them, he got that eerie feeling again, they were definitely in a battle of wills. Weren't they supposed to be long lost..lov-…friends?

"I'll take you back to school, old man." Anna threatened.

"Last time I checked, Anna, you were about 280 years older than I am." Responded the doctor imperturbably.

"And last time I checked, the first complaint you had after fu-"Ryuuken was to her in a flash, his hand over her mouth, eyes slightly wide. And…was that embarrassment coloring his cheeks?

"Oh, God, just get a room!" Called Rangiku from behind Ichigo whose expression was one of utter naiveté.

Ryuuken removed his hand from over Anna's mouth, his expression obviously defeated, while Anna had that smart assed smirk again.

Tessai called them, now descending from the ladder at the entrance of the training grounds, a large basket over his arm. Ururu and Jinta followed with smaller baskets.

Ichigo heard Orihime's stomach growl again, and smiled, looking over to where she stood. She was bright red and she was tapping her stomach.

"Shhhh, tummy! We'll eat in a minute!" She scolded herself. Ichigo couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

Lunch first, then another 10 hours of training.

The day had just begun, and there was a lot of work to be done.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

_There it is again, _thought Uryuu as he watched Ichigo and Orihime while the group sat down for lunch. _They've both started calling each other by their first names, and Kurosaki keeps _looking _at her with that soft expression. Something happened…._

He shifted his attention over to his father and Anna.

_And _those_ two…something's definitely up with those two. I haven't seen Ryuuken react that way since Okasan….._His gaze snapped away as Anna's eyes slid fluidly to meet his, she never paused in her conversation with Rukia. _Wait…..NO WAY….Ryuuken and HER? _Uryuu smothered a laugh in his drink with a snort. _So the old man _does _still have normal human emotions. _

Still, this was not the time to be starting budding relationships. This was going to start to prove as a problem later. It might have already. Uryuu hadn't seen Anna in action, but from the sound of it, she had literally treated them with kid-gloves and still beat all five of them at once without even getting scratched.

And there was something that had appeared in Anna's eyes that bothered him. Even though she hid it very well, it disturbed him more than anything else that he had witnessed so far today.

Complete bleakness, and dread.

Today must have been her day to gauge their chances at supplanting her brother. Behind the smile, which she masterfully made to reach her eyes, and behind the cocky façade, Uryuu knew she thought they would not be ready for this battle. He would have to take care to get her alone later to talk with her.

He wanted to tell her that training was not always the best mechanism for determining this group's aptitude on the battlefield. Especially Ichigo's.

Still, Uryuu hoped that after their one-on-ones, Anna might show a little more hope in her demeanor. She knew what they would face better than anyone, and if she was doubtful, even if the others were too dense to really notice it consciously, they'd still be able to pick up on it. They'd still notice the small hesistations in her orders and direction, and they'd still notice her mistakes when she slipped up.

None of these were good for someone who was supposed to be leading them into a potential suicide mission.

Uryuu ventured a sideways glance at Orihime. Her eyes were on Anna, who was talking animatedly with Rangiku about some of the fine jewelry that could be found in her world. Orihime's eyebrows were knitted together slightly.

_Ah, so you noticed it, too. _He thought. Warm grey hues shifted to look at Uryuu as they exchanged a silent understanding.

"Is there a reason you're staring at Orihime like that, Ishida?" Scowled Ichigo. Uryuu felt a vein pop out at his temple as his blood pressure suddenly spiked.

"Do you ever get tired of hovering over her like a nervous mamma-bird, Kurosaki?" He hissed back at him, standing abruptly with his lunch in hand and stalking off.

"What's his problem?" He heard Rangiku behind him as he headed to a more peaceful place to eat.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**Okay! So end of Chapter 7. I know it's a little shorter than normal, but, you know….it IS the holiday season! **

**I've been mulling over a new idea for a completely AU fanfic for Ichihime. I'm thinking about playing with an old Greek myth. **

**Anyway! Please, if you are enjoying the story, or if you have complaints, please review it! If you think this fic is good enough that it should grow in popularity, review it! Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading! I really do read through all of my reviews and squee at every favorite and follow that I get! **

**-Third.**


	9. Update 2

**So, this week was way crazier than I'd thought it'd be. I've started writing Chapter 8, but...yeah...haven't really had a lot of time to work on it between the holidays, school, and work. In fact, as we speak I am supposed to be writing an essay on Cannabis and Hallucinogens, how they affect the brain, and what are their advantages/disadvantages as a medicinal substance. Exciting stuff, right? Anyhow, I just figured I'd let you all know instead of just posting next week and hoping I don't get eviscerated. Seriously, please don't eviscerate me...you DO want to know what happens right? I mean, it's obviously a little bit of an AU story, and it's obviously not cannon...and I am OBVIOUSLY a Joss Whedon fan...so...**

**SPOILERS!**

**BTW, am I the only person who has been yelling at Kubo about Zangetsu? I've been like: "UH?! HELLO?! ORIHIME CAN FIX IT! WHY ARE YOU MAKING HER USELESS?! GAH!"**

**My co-workers stare at me a lot during my lunch break...**

**Anyhow, hope everyone had a good holiday!**

**-Third**


	10. Chapter 8

**Terms:**

**Nii-san: Brother**

**Kotowaru: I refuse**

**Chapter 8**

Ichigo was in the second hour of his one-on-one session with Anna, and he was pissed. Apparently, Urahara had decided that now was the time for the group to take a break from battling each other, and they were all gathered around (from a relatively safe distance) to watch the show.

He had wasted no time going into his Bankai this time. He was scuffed up, and despite his enormous well of reiatsu, was feeling somewhat depleted at the moment. He had learned now to ignore Anna's taunts, her cocky demeanor, and her snarky smirk. By doing this, he had actually managed to avoid being caught off guard by her. Her movements were insanely fast, but she was actually pretty easy to read, now that he was getting the hang of it. Still, she hadn't used any of those energy attacks on him yet. He wondered if maybe she was running out of energy and couldn't use them, or maybe she was using them as a trump card.

But, why would she tell them about her trump card at the very start of the session, and then completely neglect to use it?

Something clicked together in Ichigo's brain.

_She isn't serious…._He thought, his scowl deepening, that frustration from earlier in the day coming out again. _She's still taking it easy on us. _

She had told him not to rush headlong into things. And he'd decided to take her advice. So far, it had earned him a cracked rib, a gash in his arm, and a bunch of scrapes. But, he had also forced her to draw both swords.

She stood in front of him, her left blade held in a defensive position, pointing outwards from her body and perpendicular to her arm, her right blade was held at her center, the tip pointed in Ichigo's direction. He hadn't been able to get through her defenses when she just stood there in that mode. It was when she attacked that he'd found he'd had the best chance. He'd managed to cut her across her ribs once, and she'd responded by putting the gash in his arm.

They were at an impasse at the moment. Both of them just circled the one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Anna was still smiling faintly. She wore flat black knee high boots over a pair of what looked like beaten leather pants. On her upper half, she wore a white tunic which was now soaked in blood over her ribs, though the wound had since healed.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed, and that damned grin widened. She rushed him, her lithe body going airborne as she viscously brought one of her short swords down. Ichigo blocked her easily with Tensa Zangestu, but he felt his body sink into the earth with the force of the blow.

Then, in a flash, he actually felt a spike from her reiatsu. It was monstrous and suffocating. His eyes widened as Anna's left hand and sword started to spark with electricity. Her face was relatively close to his, so much so that he could see how her eyes looked kind of like shattered crystal, and he could also see that they were actually glowing.

Anna's left sword swept up, knocking Tensa Zangetsu upwards, ending the sword-lock. Ichigo felt the hair on the back of his neck lift up as every one of his nerves tingled.

Instantly, the electricity from her left hand jumped to the right, her sword vaporized, and she struck him with the flat of her palm, releasing the spell.

Ichigo felt like his belly had been ripped out. He flew backwards with the force, tumbling head over heels until a boulder halted his movement.

"What are you doing, baka?!" He heard Rukia's voice from off to the right. "Stop letting her get the drop on you!"

But Anlanah didn't stop there. Her right sword materialized in her hand again, and she rushed him again. Ichigo felt that reiatsu spike again.

This time he was ready.

He pushed off the boulder, using it as leverage to make his Shunpō faster. Anna leaped up, trying to use the height as a vantage point.

Instead of jumping up at her, Ichigo copied something she'd done to him earlier in their session. He dropped to his knees, sliding underneath her on the ground. As soon as he'd gotten behind her, he shifted his weight, so that he spun around, jumping back to his feet now sliding backwards on the dusty earth. All before she could even turn around half way from her airborne position.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

Anna's crystalline blue eyes shot wide as the black mass of reiatsu rolled towards her. She would not be able to block or dodge it. It hit her hard, and she fell from the air, rolling on the earth, and roughly into a rock, back first.

Blood sprayed from her lips, a brutal gash running from hip to shoulder from Ichigo's attack.

"Anna!" Shouted Orihime, her voice wrought with worry.

The older woman bounced unceremoniously off of the enormous rock, landing on her hands and knees. The wound in her torso spilled warm blood onto the dry earth of the training grounds.

"Fuck!" Anna cursed, the bloody gash already beginning to heal. She could feel her body move into overtime. They very center of her bones began to ache as the marrow reproduced as much blood as possible to prevent her body from bleeding out.

Ichigo heard Renji, Rukia, and Matsumoto let off cheers of victory. A tangible feeling of pride welled up in him.

Ichigo wasted no time, however, he Shunpōed next to her, Tensa Zangestu pressing gently under her chin. He had let his worry get the better of him last time, he wouldn't let it happen again. Her wound wouldn't kill her, hell, she'd probably be kicking his ass again if he gave her any time to recover.

"Yield." He said simply.

Anna went still, a low laugh emitting from her. She flung herself backwards, removing her neck from harm's way of being slit. She grabbed Tensa Zangestu with her bare hand.

_What the hell…?_ Ichigo thought as his eyes widened in surprise at her willingness to slice open her hand in such a manner. But she gripped Zangetsu as tightly as she could. Ichigo saw a spark from the hand that was wrapped firmly around his sword.

"Shit!" He hissed and tried to pull Zangestu free of Anna's hand, but he was too late. He felt his own hand clench around his sword without his volition as the sharp pain of electricity wormed from his sword into his arm. He felt like there were a million insects under his skin, and they were all digging through his veins moving at a rapid pace towards his heart.

The moment the pain subsided, he realized that he was no longer upright, but instead, he was flat on his back, with Anna sitting atop his legs. The blades of her kodachi were crossed, the place where they met pressed gently against Ichigo's now vulnerable jugular.

"Tch!" He spat in a mixture of frustration and self-disappointment again.

"Yield?" Anna asked with a smirk.

"Goddammit, I yield." He hissed at her.

"Good." She smiled. Then added, "Just a hint, I never say 'I yield.' But, don't you think losing consciousness on the battle field is the same as yielding?"

Anlanah's swords dematerialized and she stood, the weight of her lifted from his legs. The rest of the group started heading towards them. He thought about tripping her and pinning her, but that would be fighting dirty. Anna proffered him a slim hand, he took it begrudgingly and allowed her to help him to his feet. Leaning back, crossing her arms, and cocking her hips, Anna raked her eyes over him.

"I want to see more of those tactics from you." She said, finally. Ichigo just now had a moment to look at her and assess the damage he'd done to her….well, at least her clothes.

A bright red flush suddenly colored his cheeks and he turned abruptly on his heel, eyes wide, and expression made of pure and utter embarrassment.

"Anna….y-y-y-y-y-y-you're c-c-cl-"He started, stuttering like a fool.

She must have looked down at herself and seen that her right breast was completely exposed, because she spat some profanity in a language he didn't understand. However, he could see Renji, Sado, and Uryuu's faces as they noticed the state her clothes were in and all three about faced in much the same manner Ichigo had. Urahara was kindly looking away. Ryuuken's eyes were keenly trained on Ichigo's….and if looks could kill, Ichigo would have had a reishi arrow through his eye.

"Oh! Anna-san!" Came Rangiku's voice as she rushed past Ichigo, untying the light pink ribbon around her shihakusho. Orihime's stormy eyes were swimming with worry as she approached them.

"Anna, are you injured?" She asked anxiously, standing just in front of Ichigo and a few paces to the left.

"Just my pride," She muttered. "Heal the Strawberry, he needs it more."

Ichigo felt his eye twitch at the use of Anlanah's new nickname for him, but was shortly admonished by Orihime's gentle smile as she called out her Rikka to take care of his injuries.

"Well, this is nice and cozy, but we should get back to some actual work." Ryuuken remarked with irritation. "Sado, you're next with me in one-on-ones."

"Okay." Replied the giant as they walked off to the opposite side of the training grounds.

"Yoshi!" Said Orihime with satisfaction. "You're good as new, Ichigo!"

"Okay, the boys can turn around now!" Exclaimed Rangiku cheerfully.

Ichigo slowly turned, afraid of what he would see.

Anna had Rangiku's long and wide pink ribbon wrapped around her chest a couple times and tied securely in the back, effectively covering the hole Ichigo had made. Renji came up behind Ichigo and clapped him gruffly on the shoulder.

"Hey, I know she's hot an' all, but was it really necessary to go that far just to see her tits?" He joked. Ichigo scowled at him, feeling the heat in his cheeks rise again. He clenched his fist, readying himself to punch Renji right in the nose, but Rukia beat him to the punch.

"AHO!" She hollered, anger rising in her deep violet eyes. Renji cupped his nose as it began to bleed, and Ichigo couldn't help himself. He pointed at Renji and started sniggering, until he also felt his nose break from the petite woman's fist.

"FUCK!" He cursed. "Jesus, Rukia, was that really necessary?!"

"You injured a woman's pride, of course it was necessary, you dolt." She hissed.

"Ichigo!" Came Orihime's concerned voice as she called her Rikka again to heal his nose.

Anna rolled her icy eyes at them.

"While I appreciate the gesture, Rukia-chan, I also think it we may not want to exhaust Orihime, since she's up next."

"No." Said Ichigo.

"Excuse me?" Replied Anna, a vein popping out at her temple.

"There's no way I'm letting you fight Orihime."

Anna walked up to Ichigo, her eyes level with his, they pierced through him like a lance.

"_Terrae, ligneum ferri, aeris, con prædam tuam_." She hissed, her hands lifting from her sides.

Ichigo had no reaction time when roots suddenly sprang from the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs, literally rooting him to the spot. Almost immediately after, metal snaked up from the ground like mercury and wrapped around his ankles and wrists as well. Then, as if that wasn't enough, he felt an invisible pressure lock around his whole body, making it impossible to move. He flung a string of profanities at Anna's smirking expression.

"Just sit tight, Strawberry-kun." She taunted. "I promise I won't hurt her….on purpose."

He wanted to rip out LaRell Anlanah's throat.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Orihime stared slack jawed at her boyfriend.

"Ano….Anna….could you-?" She began.

"No," Said the other woman with an air of finality. "Kotowaru. He will interfere with your growth."

"Anna-san. I really think that this is going too far." Contested Rukia.

"I will release him from the bind after he has seen what I will be doing with Orihime."

"Anna-san," Began Urahara. "Perhaps you should just explain yourself to Kurosaki-kun first."

Anna met the eyes of each person currently in front of her.

"You all agreed to trust me, "She replied to them flatly. " This may sound calloused, but any one of you dead would be of no use to me, thus I've no reason to harm you irreparably. Until I have Ichigo-kun's word he will not interfere with training of any member, he stays where he is."

Silence.

"Well, you ain't gonna get my word." Said Ichigo, holding on to his previous conviction. "Even going easy on her, you'll hurt her."

Orihime had enough of this. All of this debating over her. Not only were they wasting time but…..

She knew she wasn't a fighter. She lacked the will to cause pain to others. But she wasn't completely helpless. Since she had come back from Hueco Mundo, since the encounter with the Full Bringers, she had become much stronger. She doubted if she could beat Anna, but she figured she could at least learn something new.

"Ichigo, please, trust me." She said, trying to convey as much of the conviction she felt as she could. "Please, I can do this."

The substitute clenched his jaw tightly and ground out a small "fine."

Orihime squealed with excitement, a smile lighting up her face. She looked over at everyone, Anna in particular. The British woman had a sly smile on her lips that Orihime couldn't quite read. Everyone behind her however, was slack jawed in astonishment.

She blinked in mild confusion. Rukia walked up to Orihime and took her hands in hers, looking into her eyes with a worshipful expression.

"Teach me how to do that."

"Eh?"

"What you just did to Ichigo….teach me how to do that."

Anna cleared her throat loudly.

"Alright, alright, enough with the shenanigans." She waved her hand at Ichigo. "_Dimitte_!"

The restraints around Ichigo unwound themselves rapidly allowing him free movement again. Whatever tension was remaining in the room dissipated after that. Orihime suddenly felt nervous, and she supposed her animosity showed.

"Don't worry, child." Anna chided kindly. "I don't know the full scope of your abilities, and I wasn't planning on making you fight the first day. I want to see what you can do. Then we'll go from there."

Orihime instantly relaxed. She wasn't sure if Santen Kesshun could hold up against one of Anna's fully powered strikes anyway.

Anna directed her attention to the rest of the group, who had mostly remained silent.  
"What are you lot gawking at! Get to your group work!"

Anna watched Ichigo's back, then:

"Ichigo!"

"What?!" He shouted back without turning, his shoulders were tense, his fists still clenched. Orihime knew he was worried.

"I promise I won't hurt her." Anna swore. Ichigo seemed to relax a little after that remark, and picked up his pace to meet up with the others.

Soon, it was just Orihime and Anna on their side of the training grounds.

"Alright, let's see what you've got." Anna said with a smile.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

About an hour later, Orihime had shown Anna all that she could do with her Shun-Shun Rikka and had tested her abilities at various levels. They were able to determine that her shield could withstand a blow that had the force of a mid-powered Arrancar. Orihime was actually surprised to find it so strong. It meant that Anna probably couldn't break it without really letting off a lot of power. She even remarked that it could handle a Getsuga Tensho while their redheaded friend was in his Bankai, so long as he didn't charge it up too much.

But what really made Orihime happy was that even Anna was forced to retreat some when she struck Shiten Koshun due to the improved method's ability to fire back.

"Very good!" Anna said enthusiastically. "You've got a wonderful defensive capability. Your control over your reiatsu is very good, and I think that we might be able to improve its level some."

"Really?!" Orihime gushed excitedly.

"Yes, by the time I'm done with you, Orihime, you'll be able to block me coming at you full force, I think."

She felt excited. She'd been working with Hachi and the other Visoreds for a little while before most of them went back to Seiretei. She had always wanted to do more with them, but didn't have the chance.

"Now, from my experience, the best way to increase your reiatsu is to use more of it. Your body should adjust by outputting more to replace what was lost. After a while, your body will be able to maintain a higher level than before." Anna said informatively. "Now, I'd like to spend months with you, but I can't. So we're going to have to do this as a crash course. It's going to be tough, and when we're done, you might have to have Ichigo carry you home." Anna said, adding a sly wink after that last part.

Orihime felt herself redden deeply.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked quietly.

"To me it certainly is," Anna chortled lightly. "But you're talking to someone who's had a few hundred years and two children to help her see that you fancy the Strawberry quite a bit."

"C-can you-?"

"Don't worry, I won't breathe a word to Strawberry about it. Though, it is a pity." She paused. "I think you might be surprised if you confessed to him."

Orihime had to stop herself from blurting out that they were actually already dating, and that they had decided to keep it a secret for now. She was very relieved that Anna was none-the-wiser of the quickening of their relationship. It would make things a little easier. Instead of saying anything to the older woman, she simply nodded, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Alright, moving right along. The first thing we're going to work on is your shield."

Orihime gave another nod, her expression changing from one of slight fluster, to determination. She threw up Shiten Koshun since it required more reiatsu to produce and maintain.

And it began.

Anna threw blow after blow at her shield, dodging the trajectory that shot out of it with grace each time. They continued this until Shiten Koshun broke. Then Orihime would produce it again. Each time they continued in this cycle, the shield wouldn't last as long as the time before it.

Once their one-on-one ended, Orihime slid down to her knees panting heavily. Sweat glistened on her forehead.

Quite suddenly, Orihime felt a fluctuation in reiatsu from Anna. She didn't even realize it until she saw the final result. Without a conscious thought, Shiten Koshun was up, and it held against the very powerful blast that was unleashed on her. The attack reflected on Anna, who dodged it, only for it to completely incinerate a boulder behind her.

Orihime felt a thrill of accomplishment.

And then she fainted, her energy completely depleted.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"….hime…"

_Onii-san….?_

"Orihime!"

_Hnm…Ichigo…why do you sound so worried?_

"Goddammit, Anna, you fucking promised me you wouldn't hurt her!"

"I didn't lay a bloody finger on her," Orihime heard Anna's tense tone. "She just exerted herself a little more than I anticipated she would."

"Bullshit! I felt that spell you flung at her!" He hissed. "That was full force!"

"Okay, sure, but I figured she could handle it, and she did just fine! It didn't even break her shield," Anna said, not without a hint of resentment. "Besides, I needed her to deplete all of her reiatsu. Her body will compensate for it."

"You don't know that!"

"Ichigo…" Orihime uttered softly, opening her eyes just a tad, her hand coming to rest gently on his arm. "It's okay….._I'm_ okay." Orihime sat up slowly, feeling just a little dizzy, her reiatsu still recovering. Ichigo was kneeling next to her on her right, his brow furrowed deeply in worry and anxiety.

"I agreed to it. Anna didn't make any mention that it wasn't going to exhaust me." She said with an uncharacteristically firm expression.

"But, Orihime you-"Began Ichigo.

"Actually," Chimed Orihime, her expression changing to exaltation. "I'm really proud of myself! I can't believe I actually managed to block Anna's spell when she was serious!"

Ichigo's jaw snapped shut. He averted his eyes, a small blush running up his neck, he mumbled, "Well, so long as you're okay….I guess…"

Orihime squeaked with joy and wrapped her arms tightly around Ichigo's neck, loosing herself in her joy that he was approving of her attempt at bettering herself in combat.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She giggled madly.

"Ano…." Came Rukia's perplexed voice from behind Anna, who was kneeling on Orihime's other side. "He can't breathe, Orihime."

Orihime's attention snapped in the small shinigami's direction. Sure enough, Ichigo was turning blue, her tight grip was cutting off his air. She immediately released her boyfriend.

"Um…um…sorry, Ichigo, I just got really excited…and then the little green men got into my head and decided to mess with my filters…" She gabbed nervously.

"Is there something you two would like to tell us?" Asked Uryuu, who stood behind Ichigo.

"Uhhhh….n-no?" Offered Orihime.

"Oh, c'mon now, Orihime!" Came Rangiku's jovial voice from behind her. "You two look so cute!"

"I-i-it's not like that, Rangiku-san!" She stammered, noticing that Uryuu cocked an eyebrow, his expression unconvinced.

"Yare, yare…." Chortled Urahara, his fan suddenly out and hiding half his face. "Is romance in the air, then?"

"Will you leave her alone?" Hissed Ichigo, shooting a glare in Rangiku's direction. "She just got a little carried away, is all, right Orihime?"

"U-uhn!" Orihime agreed. "There's not anything going on between Ichigo and I. We're just nakama." She said it with as much firmness and conviction as she could.

"Well, this is sweet an' all, "Growled Anna. "But we really should keep to schedule. Rukia! You're next!"

"Orihime, perhaps you should sit out for a little while and recover some of your strength. About an hour should do." Said Urahara, marching back over towards the group area.

Only three more hours of this to go…at least until tomorrow.

()()()()()()()()()

"Ahhhhh! I'm bushed!" Exclaimed Rangiku, stretching out like a cat in the water of the hot spring contained in a slightly secluded spot at one end of the training grounds. "Talk about grueling! I didn't think that Uryuu's father could be such a tight-ass!"

"You have no idea, Rangiku-san…" Anna sighed, sinking down into the water up to her chin. "Oh, this stings so good."

"Do you like it? Kisuke and I made it. It helps heal some of the shallower wounds that you obtain, and it's rich in reiatsu." Bragged Yoruichi, her sleek naked body slipping into the water.

"Ano….Yoruichi-san….there aren't any extra towels to wear into the hot spring…." Orihime fretted, still completely dressed. Rukia stood next to her, also still fully clothed. Both girls wore bright red spots high on their cheeks.

"Oh, stop being so prudent Orihime!" Chided Rangiku. "We all have the same parts, it's not like we won't see something we've never seen before!"

"But-"Started Orihime. Rangiku climbed out of the water, steam rising off of her ivory skin, water running down her curvy, and naked, body. She made a beeline for Orihime, her expression somewhat irked. Yoruichi followed Rangiku's suit, walking purposefully towards Rukia.

With rising horror, the two younger women were stripped of their clothes by the two elder, only able to offer choked protests in their embarrassment.

"Rangiku-san!"

"Yoruichi-dono!" Both girls chimed at the same time, in the same shrill tone. Orihime felt her completely nude body being lifted up and half-tossed over Rangiku's shoulder. She squeaked in protest.

"Incoming, Anna!" Laughed the blonde Shinigami.

Shortly, she felt herself falling, she landed in the hot spring with a splash, the burning water engulfing her whole body. When she surfaced, she noticed Rukia next to her, her cheeks a flaming scarlet, and she was sputtering from the water. Rangiku and Yoruichi climbed back into the small spring.

Orihime looked over at Anna, whose piercing eyes regarded her with genuine amusement.

"Yoruichi-dono…" began Rukia, trying to hide herself under the water as much as possible. "What about the boys?"

"This isn't the only spring on the grounds. After you lot came along, Kisuke and I installed another one at the other end of the facility and made both of them big enough to accommodate at least 5 people at a time." She reasoned.

"N-no…I mean what if they peek?"

"I'll eviscerate them." Anna said darkly, a twisted grin forming on her features.

Orihime gasped sharply as she felt two slender and feminine hands wrap around her generous bosom and give a firm squeeze.

"Ooooh, Hime! Your's are bigger than mine now!" Giggled Rangiku playfully.

"Rangiku-san! W-w-w-w-w-w-w-"Orihime sputtered.

"Knock it off, Matsumoto-san." Ordered Anna, leaning back in the water, her short hair now dark and curly and clinging to her face and neck. "We're here to relax and rejuvenate before bed, not fondle each other."

"Wow, Anna-san, you're more of a wet rag than my taicho…." Grumbled the blonde in response. Rangiku released Orihime and made her way over to the edge of the spring, rolling in the water so that she could rest her arms and head on the edge, her back facing the group.

Orihime turned her attention back to Anlanah and offered her a small smile of appreciation.

After about another half hour of silence, Rangiku and Yoruichi declared that they would be getting out and heading to bed, shortly after that Rukia followed suit, leaving Anna and Orihime alone. The Fae sat leaning against the edge of the spring, her head tilted back and her eyes closed.

"Ano…Anna?" Ventured the auburn haired healer.

The other only raised an eyebrow in response to let Orihime know she was listening.

"D-do you still love your brother?"

Anna's eyes popped open, and she lifted her head to look at Orihime directly. Her eyes were fierce, but there was a deep sadness behind them that Orihime was very familiar with.

"It's hard to put into words." Said the elder woman, her eyes softening a little as she focused on putting her emotions to words. "I miss who he was, what he could have been. I hate what he's become. I think a part of me might still hope that we can go back, even though rationality begs to differ. How I feel doesn't really matter, now, though does it? Regardless, he has to be stopped, and at this point I don't care if I die trying so long as it's done."

"I think I understand…"Orihime said. "M-my brother died when I was really young, a-and he lingered in this world to watch over me. Eventually it resulted in him becoming a Hollow, and he attacked me. Ichigo stopped him and saved me, but I couldn't help but think at the time 'I have to stop him. I have to stop him because the nii-san I know would be hurt if he saw this.' Do you think the same way, Anna?"

"I believe my brother at one time, was inherently a good person and that his weaknesses lead him down the path he now walks. The brother I grew up with was short-tempered, foul-mouthed, and somewhat unstable, but I've always thought that it was the result of his insecurities. Maybe, if he hadn't have been born to our clan, if he hadn't have been born as my twin, he would have achieved great things and would never have had those insecurities." Anna replied, her expression thoughtful.

"But, Anna, it isn't your fault. Please, don't blame yourself for something you didn't have control over."

Anna smiled at Orihime, a small laugh escaping her.

"I frequently wonder about different outcomes. I'm not blaming myself one bit. I just can't help but wonder if things would have turned out better if the past had been different. "

Orihime nodded in understanding. But, she was grateful for her past. Of course she missed her brother dearly. Of course she still woke up crying sometimes when she had a pleasant dream about him. But if certain things had never happened, then she never would have met Ichigo, or Rukia, or anyone else she'd become so close to over the course of the past two years. Orihime felt like Anna had none of that feeling. Even though the beautiful woman smiled at her, Orihime couldn't help but see the regret and sadness behind her eyes.

Anna stretched and stood up from the water. Orihime felt heat rise in her cheeks as she got a full look at the Fae's unclothed body. Anna's skin had looked like fine china when she was clothed, but now that Orihime had the opportunity to see her whole body, she could see scars covering her torso.

"Anna, who-?" She started, already knowing the answer. Anna looked at her in puzzlement, then looked down at herself.

"Oh, I guess I'm more exhausted than I thought."

The Fae whispered a few words in that liquid language Orihime had heard before. The scars shimmered, and then vanished.

"How?"

"It's a simple illusory spell. They're still there, but I'm about as fond of looking at them as anyone else is."

And with that Anna exited the bath, wrapping a towel around her, sliding on some slippers, and slipping a robe on over her bare skin. Orihime decided it was time to get out as well, and after she had put a fresh set of clothes on, she followed Anna up to Urahara's shoten, feeling like she understood the enigmatic Fae more than ever.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**So I know it's been like two months since I posted, and I'm very, very sorry. Between life being life and a rough bout of writer's block, I haven't had the motivation to work on this story. It seems, for some reason, though, that Shin Sekai Yori has broken the spell of no creativity. For those of you who have not seen this anime, go to and watch it. I'm serious. It starts slow, but after about the third episode it picks up. Currently, it's insanely good. I just watched the new ep last night and I find myself wishing I had the T.A.R.D.I.S. just so I could go forward in time and watch the whole damn thing. **

**Anyway, I will be posting irregularly from now on, but I won't leave this story alone. I really like what I've done, and it's on my mind often, so I will complete it!**

**Oh, and to the person who said she hates Anna.**

**Good, for the first few chapters you're supposed to. In fact, you're not really supposed to like her at all. She's arrogant, strong willed, contradictory, hypocritical, and ignores some of her own faults. As I've said before, Anna is actually from an original work of mine and she's literally years in the making (10 to be exact). I've used her in this story because I've never written anything like this before and she's my gateway character. The next fic I write will be all cannon characters. But for this one, I needed her to help me get into the story. **

**-Third**


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